Te Houhou / George Sound is a

fiord 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 ...

of the

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 ...

of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of

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 ...

Geography

The fiord is located between Taitetimu / Caswell Sound and

Hāwea / Bligh Sound Hāwea / Bligh Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located in Fiordland, 30 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound, and is 15 kilometres in length. The fiord forms a crooked "Z" shape. Wild Natives River flows into the inne ...

,NZ Topographic Map: George Sound
/ref> on the northern central Fiordland coast. At in length and over wide at its widest point, it is the longest fiord in northern Fiordland. George Sound extends in a roughly northwestern direction, and has two major indentations; Southwest Arm in the south, and Anchorage Cove halfway along its northeastern shore. Several rivers enter the fiord, the largest of which are the George River, the Whitewater River, and the Edith River. The George River flows into Anchorage Cove, halfway along the northeast coast of the fiord. The Whitewater River enters the fiord's southwest coast almost opposite the mouth of the cove. The Edith River and nearby smaller Katherine Creek both enter the southeastern end of the fiord, with the Edith River flowing through Lake Alice and over the

Alice Falls Te Houhou / George Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland. Geography The fiord is located between Taitetimu / Caswell Sound and Hāwea / Bligh Sound, on the northern centra ...

into the waters of the fiord. A walking track connects the mouth of Katherine Creek with

Lake Hankinson A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, close to the top of

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau () is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the ...

, over the Henry Pass.

Name

A. W. Reed lists two plausible origins for the fiord's name in his seminal ''Place Names of New Zealand'' (1975): "Although it has been recorded that the sound was named after the ''

King George King George may refer to: People Monarchs ;Bohemia *George of Bohemia (1420-1471, r. 1458-1471), king of Bohemia ;Duala people of Cameroon * George (Duala king) (late 18th century), king of the Duala people ;Georgia *George I of Georgia (998 or ...

'', commanded by Captain S. Chase, it is almost certain that it was named after George Stevens, the pilot of HMS ''Acheron''." In October 2019, the name of the fiord was officially altered to Te Houhou / George Sound.

References

Sounds of Fiordland Fiordland National Park {{Fiordland