Editing Marlborough Sounds

{{Short description|Flooded valleys in New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
[[Image:Marlborough Sounds topographic map-en.svg|thumb|Topographic map of the Marlborough Sounds]]
[[Image:Tory Channel Marlborough Sounds.jpg|thumb|Tory Channel, a major arm of Queen Charlotte Sound.]]
[[Image:Marlborough Sounds From Space.jpg|thumb|The Sounds visible to the left of the [[Space Shuttle]], image taken from the [[International Space Station]]]]

The '''Marlborough Sounds''' ([[Māori language|te reo Māori]]: ''Te Tauihu-o-te-Waka'') are an extensive network of [[ria|sea-drowned valley]]s at the northern end of the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of [[subsidence|land subsidence]] and [[sea level rise|rising sea levels]].<ref>[http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/OceanStudyAndConservation/CoastalErosion/2/en Rocky coasts] (from the [[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]])</ref> According to [[Māori mythology]], the sounds are the [[Bow (watercraft)|prows]] of the many sunken [[waka (canoe)|waka]] of [[Aoraki / Mount Cook#Māori history, legends and traditions|Aoraki]].<ref name="DOCHIST"/>

==Overview==
Covering some {{convert|4000|km2|abbr=on}} of sounds, islands, and peninsulas, the Marlborough Sounds lie at the South Island's north-easternmost point, between [[Tasman Bay]] in the west and [[Cloudy Bay]] in the south-east. The almost [[fractal]] coastline has 1/10 of the length of New Zealand's coasts.<ref>A Nicol (2011). ''Landscape history of the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand'', New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 54:2, 195–208, {{doi|10.1080/00288306.2010.523079}}</ref>

The steep, wooded hills and small quiet bays of the sounds are sparsely populated, as access is difficult. Many of the small settlements and isolated houses are only accessible by boat. The main large port is [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]] on the mainland, at the head of [[Queen Charlotte Sound (New Zealand)|Queen Charlotte Sound]]. It is at the northern terminus of the South Island's main railway and [[New Zealand state highway network|state highway]] networks. The main small-boat port, [[Waikawa, Marlborough|Waikawa]], is one of New Zealand's largest and provides a base for leisure sailors and vacationers.

The main sounds, other than Queen Charlotte Sound, are [[Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere]] and [[Kenepuru Sound]]. [[Havelock, New Zealand|Havelock]] is a small port town at the head of [[Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere]].  [[Tory Channel]] is a major arm of Queen Charlotte Sound, and between them, the Channel and the Sound isolate the hills of [[Arapaoa Island]] from the mainland. Other major islands in the sounds include [[D'Urville Island, New Zealand|D'Urville Island]].

The Sounds are home to the entire breeding population of the rare and [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]] [[rough-faced shag]] (also known as the New Zealand king cormorant) which nests on a [[Marlborough Sounds Important Bird Areas|small number of rocky islets]] there.<ref name="bli">BirdLife International. (2012). ''Important Bird Areas factsheets: Duffers Reef. Sentinel Rock. Trio Islands. White Rocks.'' Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-03.</ref>  The [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] manages a total of over 50 reserves in the area.<ref name="DOCHIST">
[http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=35179 Marlborough Sounds] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081015213713/http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=35179 |date= 2008-10-15 }} (from the [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] website. Accessed 2008-05-16.)
</ref>

== History ==

===Pre-modern era===
The sounds were extensively travelled and partly inhabited by [[Māori people|Māori]] groups before the coming of the Europeans, using the sounds as shelter from bad weather and partaking of the rich food sources. Māori were also known to carry their canoes over some stretches of land on [[portage]] paths.<ref name="DOCHIST"/> However, as in most areas of the South Island, populations were smaller than in the North Island.

European history of the area is considered to start with [[Captain Cook]]'s visit to the sounds in the 1770s, discovering a plant ([[Lepidium oleraceum|Cook's scurvy grass]]) high in [[vitamin C]] which helped to cure [[scurvy]] amongst his crew. On [[Motuara Island]], Cook also proclaimed British sovereignty over the South Island.<ref name="DOCHIST"/> Some parts of the sounds also later developed a significant [[whaling]] history,<ref name="DOCHIST"/> and much of the sounds was (thinly) settled by European farmers in the late 19th and early 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

===Ferries and marine farms===
[[Image:Marlborough Sounds From Ferry.jpg|thumb|The Marlborough Sounds as seen from the Wellington-Picton ferry.]]

The Marlborough Sounds are connected to [[Cook Strait]] at the north-east extreme. At this point, the [[North Island]] is at its closest to the South Island, and the inter-island road, rail, and passenger [[ferry]] service between Picton and [[Wellington]] travels through the sounds.

Marine farming, especially of [[salmon]] and [[mussel]]s, is increasingly common, having started in the 1960s.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070814143153/http://the6322s2.handel.2day.com/industry/aton/marifarm.asp History of the NZMFA] New Zealand Seafood Industry Council</ref> However, the [[Wake (physics)|wake]]s caused by fast [[catamaran]] vehicular ferry services to the North Island have allegedly damaged farms and destroyed [[crab]] grounds. They were also blamed for stripping the local beaches bare of sand, and damaging landings and other facilities built close to the water's edge. This resulted in a dispute heard in the New Zealand [[Environment Court]] in the early 1990s, brought forward by the 'Guardians of the Sounds' group. The court, however, not only refused to restrict the fast ferries but also awarded NZ$300,000 in court costs against the citizen group which had brought the case. This was seen as a strong blow against civic action, and a curtailing of the powers of the [[Resource Management Act 1991|Resource Management Act]].

However, as damage increasingly became visible, and protests continued, the fast ferries (which only operated for the summer season) were eventually restricted to a lower speed of 18 knots in the sounds (officially for safety reasons), reducing their time advantage over the conventional ferries.<ref>[http://www.guardiansofthesounds.org.nz/fastferries.htm Fast Ferries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718212826/http://www.guardiansofthesounds.org.nz/fastferries.htm |date=2007-07-18 }} (from the ''Guardians of the Sounds'' action group website)</ref> They have since been discontinued.

In July/August 2007, the 'Guardians of the Sounds' environmentalist group planned a 100-ship flotilla protest against [[Scallop dredge|scallop dredging]] in the sounds, which they consider damages the ecosystem of the sounds similar to [[trawling|bottom trawling]] in the open sea. The protest was intended to call attention to what they allege is the Ministry of Fisheries ignoring the detrimental effect of the practice. Commercial scallops harvesting companies have warned that protests could endanger lives if the protesters engaged in dangerous manoeuvres, while the Ministry of Fisheries has also noted that only 6% of the sounds are set aside for the dredging, though this had been much more extensive in the past.<ref name="NZ_Herald_10450166">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10450166 |title=100-strong flotilla to stage protest on scallop fishing |author=Booker, Jarrod |date=7 July 2007 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref>

==Dangerous waters==
The main channels of the Marlborough Sounds have calm water and are popular for [[sailing]]. [[Cook Strait]], however, is infamous for its strong currents and rough waters, especially when the wind is from the south or north. Because of this, some of the narrow channels closer to the Strait are dangerous to navigate. Notable amongst these is [[Te Aumiti / French Pass|French Pass]] at the southern end of D'Urville Island, which has several [[whirlpool|vortices]].

The most notable shipwreck in the sounds is that of the Russian cruise liner [[MS Mikhail Lermontov|MS ''Mikhail Lermontov'']], which sank in 1986 in [[Port Gore, New Zealand|Port Gore]], close to the mouth of Queen Charlotte Sound, after colliding with rocks. One crew member was killed in the disaster. The ship herself is now a popular [[dive wreck]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Marlborough Sounds}}
* [http://www.nzmaritime.co.nz/lermontov.htm NZ Maritime Museum's article on the ''Mikhail Lermontov'']
* [http://www.soundsrestoration.org.nz/ Marlborough Sounds Restoration Trust]

{{Marlborough Region|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|41|08|30|S|174|05|22|E|region:NZ-MBH_type:landmark_scale:1000000|display=title}}

[[Category:Marlborough Sounds| ]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Marlborough District]]
[[Category:Sounds of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Cook Strait]]