page_title: Doubtful Sound
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Doubtful Sound / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: The Channel in the Shelter Islands at the Entrance of Doubtful Sound Fiordland New Zealand
context_page_description: Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fjord 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. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zealand's most famous tourism destination.
  At 40 kilometres long, Doubtful Sound is the second longest, and with a depth of up to 421 metres the deepest of the South Island's fiords. In comparison with Milford Sound, it is more widespread, with the cliffs not as dramatically tall and near vertical. However, the U-shaped profile of the fiord is obvious, in particular on the two innermost of the main fiord's arms and the hanging side valleys along the main fiord.
  Like most of Fiordland, Doubtful Sound receives a high amount of rainfall, ranging from an annual average of 3,000–6,000 millimetres. The vegetation on the mountainous landscape surrounding the fiord is dense native rainforest.
context_section_description: Doubtful Sound lies deep within the Fiordland National Park, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the nearest inhabited place, the small town of Manapouri, and is surrounded by mountainous terrain with peaks typically reaching 1,300–1,600 metres (4,300–5,200 ft).  Along the coast, there are no settlements for about 200 kilometres (120 mi) in either direction.
  There are three distinct arms to the sound, which all extend to the south from the main fiord. From the major conflux of water just south of Secretary Island, these arms are:
  First Arm, the shortest at 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long,
  Crooked Arm, roughly halfway along the sound and the longest at 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long,
  Hall Arm (8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long), which branches off from the Sound's terminus at Deep Cove next to the prominent Commander Peak.
  Crooked Arm reaches to within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of Te Rā / Dagg Sound, almost cutting off a landmass of about 195 square kilometres (75 sq mi).
  The Sound is the site of several large waterfalls, notably Helena Falls at Deep Cove and the Browne Falls, which have a fall of over 600 metres (2,000 ft). The steep hills surrounding the main fiord and its arms are known for their hundreds of waterfalls during the rainy season.
  Doubtful Sound contains about a dozen smaller islands, with the more notable ones being Elizabeth Island, Fergusson Island, Bauza Island, and the Shelter Islands. Parts of the sound on the west side of Elizabeth Island are protected by the Taipari Roa (Elizabeth Island) Marine Reserve.
  The last quarter of the sound closest to the sea is dominated by islands, the major one being Secretary Island to the north. At the southernmost tip of the island, Doubtful Sound opens up as a confluence of 5 bodies of water. From the western seaward end and going clockwise, these are:
  Seaward end of Doubtful Sound, often referred to as "The Gut"
  Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound
  Kaikiekie / Bradshaw Sound
  Continuation of Doubtful Sound to Deep Cove (Malaspina Reach)
  First Arm
  The narrow, shallower area of the sound between Bauza Island and Secretary Island ("The Gut") offers more shelter than areas further to the west and towards the sea. It is a popular fishing and mooring location and is a haven for crayfish.
  Thompson Sound and Bradshaw Sound join in a short stretch named "Pendulo Reach" southeast of Secretary Island, and containing the tiny Seymour Island.
  Access to the sound is either by sea or via the isolated Wilmot Pass road from the Manapouri Power Station. Most areas of the sound itself are accessible only by sea, however, as the road network in this area of New Zealand is sparse or nonexistent, as is the human population.
  Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957–1962) wrote about this part of Fiordland:
  "There are just a few areas left in the world where no human has ever set foot. That one of them should be in a country so civilized and so advanced as New Zealand may seem incredible, unless one has visited the south-west corner of the South Island. Jagged razor backed mountains rear their heads into the sky. More than 200 days of rain a year ensure not a tree branch is left bare and brown, moss and epiphytes drape every nook. The forest is intensely green. This is big country... one day peaceful, a study in green and blue, the next melancholy and misty, with low cloud veiling the tops... an awesome place, with its granite precipices, its hanging valleys, its earthquake faults and its thundering cascades."
caption: Doubtful Sound's Shelter Islands
exif: {"Image Make": "EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY", "Image Model": "KODAK C340 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2012:12:16 18:44:59", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2290", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Action", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:03:27 19:59:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:03:27 19:59:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "9", "EXIF ApertureValue": "9/2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "28/5", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "512", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "683", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7376", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "80", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "34", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4180"}