Foveaux Strait
Strait separating the South Island and Stewart Island / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Foveaux Strait (Māori: Te Ara-a-Kiwa, lit. 'the Path of Kiwa') is a strait that separates Stewart Island from the South Island of New Zealand. The width of the strait ranges from about 23 to 53 km (14 to 33 mi) and it has an area of approximately 2,460 square kilometres (950 sq mi). The depth of the strait ranges between 18 and 46 m (59 and 151 ft). The strait has been described as "one of the roughest and most unpredictable stretches of water in the world". Severe weather and sea conditions in the strait have contributed to multiple shipwrecks and fatalities. One of these losses was the wreck of the SS Tararua in 1881 — the worst maritime disaster for civilian vessels in New Zealand's history, with 131 fatalities.
Foveaux Strait | |
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Māori: Te Ara-a-Kiwa | |
Foveaux Strait separates the South and Stewart Island islands of New Zealand. Show map of New Zealand | |
Coordinates | 46.67°S 168.18°E / -46.67; 168.18 |
Surface area | 2,460 square kilometres (950 sq mi) |
The sea floor in the strait is mostly flat with patches of coarse pebble and an upfault of bedrock close to sea level, near Te Waewae Bay. Captain James Cook may have sighted the strait during his circumnavigation of the South Island in March 1770 on the HMS Endeavour. It was not properly recorded until 1804 when an American sealer Owen Folger Smith made a chart. The western entrance of the strait, commonly referred to as the "The Solanders" was dominated by American whaleships in the nineteenth century, and was described as "the world's prime sperm whale fishing ground". Ferry services began in 1877 and still operate regularly between Oban and Bluff Harbour. The journey is about 39 km (24 mi) and typically takes an hour to complete.
Major landforms on the northern coast of the strait include three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach, Toetoes Bay and Bluff Harbour. There are a large number of small islands in the strait, including Ruapuke Island and the northern Tītī / Muttonbird Islands. Foveaux Strait is known as the main fishing grounds for the economically important Bluff oyster industry. The area of the strait is known for marine life including seals and sea lions, and a large variety of seabirds, most notably the endemic Foveaux shags and the rare yellow-eyed penguins.