Chalky Inlet
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Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost
fiords In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the no ...
in
Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand'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 ...
and part of
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 ...
. As with the neighbouring fiords of
Tamatea / Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...
to the north and Rakituma / Preservation Inlet to the south, Taiari / Chalky Inlet is a complex fiord with many channels and islands along its roughly length. Most notably, this includes the sections Moana-whenua-pÅuri / Edwardson Sound and Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound, which split at Divide Head in the middle of Taiari and each extend for roughly inland in a V-shape. Despite its remoteness, Taiari / Chalky Inlet has seen frequent waves of human interaction. Early European accounts suggest that a population of
MÄori MÄori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the MÄori people * MÄori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * MÄori language, the language of the MÄori people of New Zealand * MÄori culture * Cook Islanders, the MÄori people of the Co ...
inhabited the fiord for a time, while battles between
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand MÄori society. In MÄori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the MÄori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
(tribes) are said to have taken place in neighbouring Rakituma, but the extent of this habitation is not known. The fiord was regularly visited by Europeans during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with explorers including
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
and Jules de Blosseville giving many of the features their European names. As with the rest of the Fiordland coast, the fiord was briefly inhabited by crews of whalers and
sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 1800 ...
, until declines in the population of these animals made the industry uneconomic by the 1830s. Following the departure of sealers from the fiord, human presence in Taiari has been at low levels, typically due to its isolation. Visits have been primarily for research or tourism, with photographs taken in the fiord during the late 19th century contributing to the campaign to establish the area as a
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
. Unlike more developed fiords to the north (such as
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi Milford Sound (, officially gazetted as Milford Sound / Piopiotahi) is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Fiordland's marine reserves, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te ...
or
Doubtful Sound / Patea Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Ze ...
), Taiari / Chalky Inlet has no defined land access, limiting human interaction to sea or air. This, along with pest control efforts on the islands within the fiord, has allowed for populations of native species to recover, although a number of
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
remain a threat.


Geography

The geography of Taiari / Chalky Inlet is complex, as it is for the neighbouring fiord complexes of
Tamatea / Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...
to the north and Rakituma / Preservation Inlet to the south. There are two main entrances to the fiord from the
Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea 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 Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
, separated by a string of islands – the Eastern Passage, which continues in a northerly direction into the main channel of Taiari / Chalky Inlet, and the Western Passage, which is connected to the eastern and main channel via a number of passages between islands. These include Bad Passage (separating Chalky Island and Motutawaki), Return Channel (separating Motutawaki and
Great Island Great Island () is an island in Cork Harbour, at the mouth of the River Lee and close to the city of Cork, Ireland. The largest town on the island is Cobh (called Queenstown from 1849 to 1920). The island's economic and social history has hist ...
), and North Port (separating Great Island from the South Island mainland). Islands of varying sizes are found in the sound, including those at the entrance, which separate the Eastern and Western passages. Chalky Island (or ''Te KÄkahu-o-Tamatea'', so named as it was said to be the location where the explorer Tamatea laid down his cloak, or kÄkahu, to dry) is the most seaward of these, with both the island and the sound likely owing their English names to the white cliffs found on the island's seaward southern edge. Further from the sea are the Passage Islands, the largest of which is known as Motutawaki, from the
MÄori MÄori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the MÄori people * MÄori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * MÄori language, the language of the MÄori people of New Zealand * MÄori culture * Cook Islanders, the MÄori people of the Co ...
words ''motu'' for 'island' and ''tawaki'', referring generally to large penguins such as the
Fiordland crested penguin The Fiordland penguin (''Eudyptes pachyrhynchus''), also known as the Fiordland crested penguin (in MÄori, ''tawaki'' or pokotiwha), is a crested penguin species endemic to New Zealand. It currently breeds along the south-western coasts of Ne ...
. Further still from the mouth of the fiord is
Great Island Great Island () is an island in Cork Harbour, at the mouth of the River Lee and close to the city of Cork, Ireland. The largest town on the island is Cobh (called Queenstown from 1849 to 1920). The island's economic and social history has hist ...
, or ''Ōteauau'', the largest island in the complex at . Great Island contains two small lakes – Lakes Dobson and Esau – and reaches a height of above sea level. Although it is less than from the South Island mainland, the island is free of possums and is the site of multiple pest control initiatives to prevent pests from accessing other islands via Great Island. Little Island sits in the narrow channel between Great Island and the South Island. Beyond this primary chain of islands, there is a small group of islands known as the Small Craft Harbour islands, located about from the fiord's mouth, near its divergence into two separate fiords. Closer to the mouth, the Garden islands are another small group, located on the eastern edge of the fiord, at the entrance to
South Port South Port is a port located on the western coast of Xiuying District, Haikou, Hainan, China. It operates as the south terminal of the Yuehai Ferry service, part of the Guangdong–Hainan Railway. This ferry transports train cars across the Qiongz ...
. Approximately from the fiord's mouth, the fiord splits in two. Moana-whenua-pÅuri / Edwardson Sound continues the roughly northeast–southwest orientation of the main length of Taiari, whilst Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound splits off from this in an east–west orientation. The head between these two fiords, on the northern edge of Te Korowhakaunu and the eastern edge of Moana-whenua-pÅuri, is known as Divide Head in English. The MÄori names of the point and the hill behind it are Te Tapuwae-o-MÄui (the footprint of
MÄui MÄui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was MÄui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...
) and Te Rereka-o-MÄui (the leap of MÄui) respectively. These names both come from the MÄori creation myth for the fiord, in which the demigod
MÄui MÄui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was MÄui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl ...
is said to have leapt ashore at that point. In one legend, MÄui is said to have slipped over, with his extended arms creating both Te Korowhakaunu and Moana-whenua-pÅuri in the process. In another account, Te Korowhakaunu already existed, with the mud and water kicked up when MÄui's foot slipped creating Moana-whenua-pÅuri.


Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound

The main length of Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound extends for from its head at the Dark Cloud Range, in a roughly westerly direction towards the main channel of Taiari / Chalky Inlet. The fiord is slightly shallower than the main channel of Taiari, reaching a maximum depth of compared to for the main fiord. A small string of islands, the Small Craft Harbour Islands, lies close to the sound's junction with the main channel of Taiari / Chalky Inlet. At its head, the fiord is split into two smaller coves, separated by the aptly-named Two Cove Head. The northernmost of these, Islet Cove, is fed by the Carrick River, one of the largest inflows into the entire complex. The other cove, Cliff Cove, does not have any inflows of the same degree. However, the cove marks the closest point between the Chalky Inlet complex and that of neighbouring Rakituma / Preservation Inlet, at just over 500 metres from
Te Awaroa / Long Sound Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of , it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, ...
. The isthmus between the two fiords constitutes part of the Dark Cloud Range, which extends seaward to form the southern side of Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound and the eastern edge of Taiari / Chalky Inlet. This peninsula reaches a maximum height of at Treble Mountain, and was formerly given a name of French origin – ''Presqu'île Bréauté'' – by an 1826 French expedition, however this name fell into disuse. The name Cunaris Sound stems from this expedition, although the exact etymology is unclear. It was previously believed to be derived from the plural of the French name for the canary, ''canaris'', in reference to the bellbirds prevalent in the area at the time. However, evidence has since suggested that the fiord was instead named after
Konstantinos Kanaris Konstantinos Kanaris (, ; c. 1790Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
, and in 2021 the spelling of the European portion of the name was altered to Kanáris Sound to reflect this naming origin. To the north of Kanáris Sound lie two hill formations, separated by a small glacial valley. These constitute the Tower Hills on the east and Te Rereka-o-MÄui on the west, and consist of primarily
schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...
and
greywacke Greywacke or graywacke ( ) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and Sorting (sediment), poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size Lith ...
, with small portions of
gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
.


Moana-whenua-pÅuri / Edwardson Sound

The hills that constitute the northern edge of Kanáris Sound also form the eastern edge of Moana-whenua-pÅuri / Edwardson Sound. This fiord continues the northeast–southwest orientation of the majority of Taiari, beginning roughly from its junction with Te Korowhakaunu. Opposite the fiord from Te Rereka-o-MÄui, the Kakapo Range continues roughly parallel to the fiord for much of its length with a maximum height of at The Stopper. The northern limit of the fiord consists of a small sheltered cove known as Lake Cove, into which the two primary tributaries of this branch flow. To the east of the cove, Cora Lynn Falls drains the outflow from a series of lakes (from upstream to downstream, lakes
Purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
, Carrick, and Cadman) that extend towards
Tamatea / Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...
. The second inflow into Lake Cove is Lumaluma Creek, which drains a large catchment area including multiple small
tarns A tarn (or corrie loch) is a mountain lake, pond or pool, formed in a cirque (or "corrie") excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. Etymology The word is derived from the Old Norse word ''tjörn'' ("a small mou ...
. Numerous small creeks flow along both edges of the fiord, fed by the 2-4 metres of rain which falls around the fiord annually. Moana-whenua-pÅuri is significantly shallower than either Chalky Inlet or Kanáris Sound. Unlike many of the other fiords in the region, including the others in the Taiari complex, this fiord gets progressively shallower from its mouth, with no basins to speak of. The upper reaches of the fiord are as shallow as , a depth equal to only the sill depth of Eastern Passage.


History

Not much is known about
MÄori MÄori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the MÄori people * MÄori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * MÄori language, the language of the MÄori people of New Zealand * MÄori culture * Cook Islanders, the MÄori people of the Co ...
habitation of Fiordland prior to the arrival of Europeans. The conditions in Fiordland were not hospitable to ongoing habitation, although expeditions for exploration, hunting, and gathering of resources such as
pounamu Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in the South Island of New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in MÄori culture. Name The MÄori word ...
took place soon after the arrival of MÄori in New Zealand, roughly 700 years ago. More permanent occupation took place in the 18th century, when remnants of the
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand MÄori society. In MÄori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the MÄori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
(tribe)
KÄti MÄmoe KÄti MÄmoe (also spelled NgÄti MÄmoe) is a MÄori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha. A centu ...
fled into the area following a
NgÄi Tahu NgÄi Tahu, or KÄi Tahu, is the principal MÄori people, MÄori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
conquest of the South Island, constructing a
The word pÄ (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any MÄori people, MÄori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
on Matauira in neighbouring Rakituma / Preservation Inlet. NgÄi Tahu forces pursued KÄti MÄmoe to this point, with the pÄ said to be the site of a battle between the two. Several European explorers noted evidence of MÄori habitation in the fiords and surrounding areas, while evidence of seasonal habitation has also been identified through archaeological studies of the region.
Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...
was the first European to see Taiari / Chalky Inlet during his second voyage in 1773, naming both it and Chalky Island after the white cliffs on the island's seaward side. Cook did not enter the fiord, owing to poor weather conditions, and sailed past en route to
Tamatea / Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...
. The first Europeans known to have entered and explored the complex came in 1813, when the cutter ''Snapper'' entered the fiord and established a camp in the upper reaches of Edwardson Sound, which they so named after the ship's captain, Captain Edwardson. The ''Snapper'' left after a few months, returning in 1820 once they believed bird populations in the area had replenished. Edwardson's account of this return described the environment around Lake Cove and the changes which he witnessed from his first experience. The cove, which had been a lagoon impossible to enter by ship on their first visit due to dangerous tides and silt, had opened up into a deep harbour large enough to hold a whaling ship, with two large river inflows instead of one. Notes from Edwardson's visits were incorporated into a comprehensive account of the region by Jules de Blosseville, part of an 1826 French expedition. The French expedition named a number of features, although the majority of these have since been replaced by English or MÄori names. These include ''Presqu'île le Chevalier'' at the northern edge of Western passage (now Cape Providence) and ''Presqu'île Bréauté'' (now the Treble Mountain peninsula). Other names, such as Kanáris Sound or Puysegur Point (in neighbouring Preservation Inlet) have been adapted from the French names from this expedition. From this point, European activity in the region came in waves, due in equal parts to economic and scientific endeavours. Sealers frequented the Fiordland coast throughout the 1820s, although this came to a quick end due to severe depletion of the seal populations making the activities uneconomic. The area was surveyed again around 1850 by HMS ''Acheron'' under Captain
John Lort Stokes Admiral John Lort Stokes (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885) was a Royal Navy officer who served onboard for almost eighteen years.Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stok ...
. One of the first accounts of the geological composition of the region was made by the ship's surgeon, who noted the occurrence of
pink granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and the presence of
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
. Further expeditions by other Europeans into the 1860s and 1870s built on this work, identifying with greater detail the distribution of potentially valuable resources within the region. This culminated in a brief gold rush and attempt at permanent settlement in Rakituma / Preservation Inlet during the 1880s, however despite reports of similar deposits in the headwaters of Taiari / Chalky Inlet, the activity did not spread and quickly dissipated. At the same time as these numerous sea-based voyages into the fiords, attempts at land-based expeditions were also undertaken. The most prominent of these was that of Alfred Henry Burton, a Dunedin-based photographer and part of the Burton Brothers photographic studio. Burton travelled extensively within Fiordland (as well as the rest of New Zealand) and made several trips during his career by both land (on horseback) and sea. His photographs of the unspoilt environment contributed to the campaign to establish the area as a National Park, which was eventually established as a "National reserve" in 1904 before officially becoming New Zealand's third national park with the passage of the National Parks Act 1952. Since this, Taiari / Chalky Inlet has seen low levels of human interaction, with its isolation preventing the development seen in fiords further north, such as
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi Milford Sound (, officially gazetted as Milford Sound / Piopiotahi) is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Fiordland's marine reserves, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te ...
or
Doubtful Sound / Patea Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Ze ...
. There is no defined land route to the fiord, and as such it is very difficult to reach even by foot. Despite the remoteness, tourism to the area has been increasing during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. The large decline of international visitors resulted in some tourism operators in Milford Sound / Piopiotahi relocating their vessels further south, typically offering trips to Taiari / Chalky and Rakituma / Preservation out of Tamatea / Dusky Sound. Efforts have also been made in recent years to restore the cultural history of MÄori within Fiordland. This culminated in 2019 with the renaming of multiple fiords to dual names, including the renaming of Chalky Inlet, Edwardson Sound and Cunaris Sound to their respective dual names.


Ecology

Despite Taiari / Chalky Inlet's remote location, it did not escape the ecological impact of human settlement. The seal population of the fiord was decimated by hunters during the early 19th century, leading to the local collapse of the industry by the 1830s. As with the rest of New Zealand, a number of invasive species including
stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...
s,
rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...
s and
possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...
s have been found in the area around the fiord. In the years since human interaction shifted from primarily economic to scientific and environmental, efforts have been made to restore the environment and reduce the impact of human settlement. A 1977 study identified a number of invasive species to remove from the area, including noting the impact of
deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
on the area. Invasive species remain a threat to the fiord complex, with the invasive seaweed '' Undaria'' discovered in 2019. Owing to the small amount detected, active efforts are in place to eradicate Undaria from the fiord with control measures around the area in place. Similar efforts were launched in August 2022 in response to the discovery of stoat prints on Chalky Island, the outermost of three predator-free islands in the fiord. More than 100 stoat traps were set on the island in response to the sighting, with staff from the
Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
seeking to capture it as part of wider pest control efforts in Fiordland. This was the beginning of an eight-month campaign, before the stoat was eventually caught in late April 2023. Aside from this stoat, pest control efforts on the islands in Taiari / Chalky Inlet have led to the eradication of pests from Great Island, the Passage Islands (including Motutawaki) and Chalky Island, all of which have been declared predator-free since 1999. This has allowed the islands to become a sanctuary for many native species which have been reintroduced to the area since 2002, including the mÅhua, orange-fronted kÄkÄriki,
little spotted kiwi The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi (''Apteryx owenii'') is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family, Apterygidae. It is the smallest of the five kiwi species, at about , about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and ...
, and
tÄ«eke The saddlebacks or tÄ«eke (MÄori) are two species of New Zealand birds of the family Callaeidae. Both are glossy black with a chestnut saddle. Their taxonomic family is also known as that of the (New Zealand) "wattlebirds" and includes the tw ...
. Chalky Island is also home to the Te Kakahu skink, an endemic skink discovered in 2002 and confirmed as a separate species in 2011. The fiord also contains multiple
petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes. Description Petrels are a monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses". Petrels enco ...
colonies, like many other fiords in the area.


See also

*
List of fiords of New Zealand The fiords of New Zealand ( "bluff sea") are all located in the southwest of the South Island, in a mountainous area known as Fiordland. A fiord is a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes, which results from marine inundation ...


References

{{Fiordland Fiords of New Zealand Important Bird Areas of New Zealand Sounds of Fiordland Fiordland National Park