Elizabeth Island () is the largest island in the inner
Doubtful Sound, in
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te WÄ ...
, in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
's
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. It was created during the last glaciation, its narrow long shape aligned with the direction of the fiord. The island is uninhabited and entirely covered in dense native bush.
The island was named by Captain
John Grono after his brig ''Elisabeth'' in late 1822 or early 1823 (itself named for his wife).
The waters surrounding Elizabeth Island are protected by the
Taipari Roa (Elizabeth Island) Marine Reserve. The western side of the island, facing the main flow of Doubtful Sound, contains extensive rock wall habitats. Off the southern end of the island are deep kelp beds. To the east of Elizabeth Island lies a shallow channel with high water flow, containing Olphert Cove and the mouth of
Elizabeth River. This area is also home to black and red coral.
See also
*
Desert island
An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refer ...
References
Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
Islands of Fiordland
Fiordland National Park
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