Taiporoporo / Charles Sound is a

fiord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, Gr ...

of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...

Geography

The fiord is located between Taitetimu / Caswell Sound and Hinenui / Nancy Sound,NZ Topographic Map: Charles Sound
/ref> on the central Fiordland coast. It is 14 kilometres in length, and extends in a roughly northwestern direction. In its upper reaches the fiord splits into two arms of similar length, the Emelius Arm (to the north) and the Gold Arm (to the south). The Gold Arm is protected by the

Kahukura (Gold Arm) Marine Reserve Kahukura (Gold Arm) Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of in Charles Sound, in Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 2005 and is administered by the Department of Conservation. Geography and ecology The ...

. Other parts of the fiord are included in the Taumoana (Five Fingers Peninsula) Marine Reserve. The

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

and Windward Rivers flow respectively into the ends of the Emelius and Gold Arms. The short Juno River enters to

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

just to the north of the fiord's mouth. Several small islands are located within the fiord, including Catherine Island and Fanny Island in the Gold Arm and Eleanor Island at the mouth of the Emelius Arm.

History

Charles Sound was known as Charlie's Sound during the early to mid-19th century. It was very probably named after Charles MacLaren, the captain of the ''Sydney Cove'', a sealing boat that visited the sound in 1810. In October 2019, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Taiporoporo / Charles Sound.

2003 tsunami

During the magnitude 7.0 23 August 2003 Fiordland earthquake, a significant landslide swept into Charles Sound causing a 4- to 5-metre high tsunami that damaged a wharf and helipad in the sound.De Lange, W., and McSaveney, E.,
Tsunamis – New Zealand's underrated hazard'
"

Te Ara ''Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' is an online encyclopedia established in 2001 by the New Zealand Government's Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The web-based content was developed in stages over the next several years; the first s ...

- the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13 July 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2018.

References

Sounds of Fiordland {{Fiordland