Cook Strait
Cook Strait | |
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Māori: Te Moana-o-Raukawa | |
Coordinates | 41°13′46″S 174°28′59″E / 41.22944°S 174.48306°E |
Basin countries | New Zealand |
Min. width | 22 km (14 mi) |
Average depth | 128 m (420 ft) |
External videos | |
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Ship entering a Cook Strait swell – YouTube |
Cook Strait (
The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770.[3] In Māori it is named Te Moana-o-Raukawa, which means The Sea of Raukawa. Raukaua is a type of woody shrub native to New Zealand.[4]
History
Approximately 18,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, Cook Strait was a deep harbour of the Pacific Ocean, disconnected from the Tasman Sea by the vast coastal plains which formed at the South Taranaki Bight which connected the North and South islands. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating the islands and linking Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea.[5]
In
When Dutch explorer Abel Tasman first saw New Zealand in 1642, he thought Cook Strait was a bight closed to the east. He named it Zeehaen's Bight, after the Zeehaen, one of the two ships in his expedition. In 1769 James Cook established that it was a strait, which formed a navigable waterway.
Cook Strait attracted European settlers in the early 19th century. Because of its use as a
During the 1820s Te Rauparaha led a Māori migration to, and the conquest and settlement of, the Cook Strait region.
From 1840 more permanent settlements sprang up, first at Wellington, then at Nelson and at Whanganui (Petre). At this period the settlers saw Cook Strait in a broader sense than today's ferry-oriented New Zealanders: for them the strait stretched from Taranaki to Cape Campbell, so these early towns all clustered around "Cook Strait" (or "Cook's Strait", in the pre-Geographic Board usage of the times) as the central feature and central waterway of the new colony.
In 1866, the first
Between 1888 and 1912 a
At times when New Zealand feared invasion, various coastal fortifications were constructed to defend Cook Strait. During the Second World War, two 23 cm (9.1 in) gun installations were constructed on Wrights Hill behind Wellington. These guns could range 28 kilometres (17 mi) across Cook Strait. In addition thirteen 15 cm (6 in) gun installations were constructed around Wellington, along the Mākara coast, and at entrances to the Marlborough Sounds. The remains of most of these fortifications can still be seen.
The Pencarrow Head Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse built in New Zealand. Its first keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, was the only female lighthouse keeper in New Zealand's history. The light was decommissioned in 1935 when it was replaced by the Baring Head Lighthouse.
A number of ships have been wrecked with significant loss of life, such as the Maria in 1851,[11] the City of Dunedin in 1865,[12] the St Vincent in 1869,[11] the Lastingham in 1884,[13] SS Penguin in 1909[14] and TEV Wahine in 1968.
Timeline
- According to Māori legend the mythical navigator Kupe follows, in his canoe, the octopus Te Wheke-a-Muturangi across Te Moana o Raukawa, Cook Strait.
- 1642: Abel Tasman mistook Cook Strait for a bight.
- 1769: James Cook established it is a strait.
- 1822: Ngāti Toa migrated to Cook Strait region, led by Te Rauparaha.
- 1831: Whaling station established in Tory Channel.
- 1851: The barque Maria wrecked on rocks at Cape Terawhiti, 28 people killed.
- 1855: Severe earthquake on both sides of Cook Strait.
- 1865: The paddle steamer City of Dunedin sank in Cook Strait, 50 to 60 people killed.
- 1866: Cook Strait submarine telegraph cable laid.[9]
- 1869: St Vincent wrecked in Palliser Bay, 20 people killed.
- 1879: Kangaroo laid the first telegraph cable across Cook Strait.
- 1884: Lastingham wrecked at Cape Jackson, 18 people killed.
- 1904: Pelorus Jack was protected by New Zealand law.
- 1909: SS Penguin wrecked in Cook Strait, 75 people killed.[14]
- 1920: First aeroplane flight across Cook Strait.[15]
- 1935: Air services began across Cook Strait.
- 1962: Cook Strait rail ferry service began.
- 1962: Barrie Devenport swims the strait.
- 1964: Cook Strait power cables laid.
- 1968: TEV Wahine wrecked at entrance to Wellington harbour, 53 people killed.
- 1975: First balloon crossing, made by Roland Parsons and Rex Brereton.[16]
- 1975: Lynne Cox became the first woman to swim the strait.[17]
- 1979: Paul Caffyn crossed the strait in a sea kayak.
- 1984: Philip Rush swam the strait both ways.
- 1984: Meda McKenzie became the first woman to swim the strait both ways.
- 1990: Stephen Preest made the first crossing and double crossing by hovercraft.[18]
- 1991: Five new power and communication cables laid.
- 1994: First fast-ferry service began operation across Cook Strait.
- 2002: Two further communications cables laid.
- 2005: The retired frigate HMNZS Wellington was sunk off Wellington as an artificial reef.
- 2008: A resource consent was granted to Neptune Power to install a $10 million experimental underwater tidal stream turbine capable of producing one megawatt.
- 2008: Energy Pacifica applies for resource consent to install up to 10 marine turbines, each able to produce up to 1.2 MW, near the Cook Strait entrance to Tory Channel.
- 2013: First crossing made by a paraglider, achieved by Matt Stanford.[19]
- 2013: Two large earthquakes measuring 6.5 and 6.6 on the Richter Scale struck Cook Strait, causing significant damage in the town of Seddon, with minor to moderate damage in Wellington.
- 2021: First electric aircraft flight across Cook Strait, from
Geography
The strait runs in a general NW-SE direction, with the South Island on the west side and North Island on the east. At its narrowest point, 22 kilometres (14 mi) separate
The west (South Island) coast runs 30 kilometres (19 mi) along
The shores of Cook Strait on both sides are mostly composed of steep cliffs. The beaches of
Oceanography
The waters of Cook Strait are dominated by strong
There are numerous computer models of the tidal flow through Cook Strait. While the tidal components are readily realizable,[26] the residual flow is more difficult to model.[27] Probably the most prolific oceanographer to research the strait was Ron Heath based at the N.Z. Oceanographic Institute. He produced a number of studies including analysis of tides [28] which identified the presence of a "virtual amphidrome" in the region. Heath also quantified a best estimate for the time of the "residual current" (i.e. net current after averaging out the tidal influence) in the strait.[29] This continues to be a topic of research with computer simulations combining with large datasets to refine the estimate.[30]
Despite the strong currents, there is almost zero tidal height change in the centre of the strait. Instead of the tidal surge flowing in one direction for six hours and then in the reverse direction for six hours, a particular surge might last eight or ten hours with the reverse surge enfeebled. In especially boisterous weather conditions the reverse surge can be negated, and the flow can remain in the same direction through three surge periods and longer. This is indicated on marine charts for the region.
Tidal power
The electrical power generated by tidal marine turbines varies as the cube of the tidal speed. Because the tidal speed doubles, eight times more tidal power is produced during spring tides than at neaps.[25] Cook Strait has been identified as a potentially excellent source of tidal energy.[34]
In April 2008, Neptune Power was granted a resource consent to install a $10 million experimental underwater tidal stream turbine capable of producing one megawatt. The turbine was designed in Britain, and was to be built in New Zealand and placed in 80 metres (260 ft) of water, 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) due south of Sinclair Head, in waters known as the "Karori rip". The company claimed there is enough tidal movement in Cook Strait to generate 12 GW of power, more than one-and-a-half times New Zealand's current requirements.[35][36][37][25] In practice, only some of this energy could be harnessed.[38] As of October 2016, this turbine had not been built and the Neptune Power website is a placeholder with no further announcements.
On the other side of the strait, Energy Pacifica applied for resource consent to install up to 10 marine turbines, each able to produce up to 1.2 MW, near the Cook Strait entrance to Tory Channel. The company claimed that Tory Channel was an optimal site with a tidal current speed of 3.6 metres per second (12 ft/s) and the best combination of bathymetry and accessibility to the electricity network.[25] However, despite being validated by computer modelling,[39] no project was forthcoming.
Cables
Electric power and communication cables link the North and South Islands across Cook Strait, operated by
Three submarine power cables cross Cook Strait between Oteranga Bay in the North Island and Fighting Bay in the South Island as part of the HVDC Inter-Island, which provides an electricity link between Benmore in the South island and Haywards in the North Island. Each cable operates at 350 kV, and can carry up to 500 MW, with Pole 2 of the link using one cable and Pole 3 using two cables. The link's total capacity is 1200 MW (500MW for Pole 2 and 700MW for Pole 3). The cables are laid on the seabed within a legally defined zone called the cable protection zone (CPZ). The CPZ is about 7 kilometres (4 mi) wide for most of its length, narrowing where it nears the terminals on each shore. Fishing activities and anchoring boats are prohibited within the CPZ.[40]
Fibre optic cables carry telecommunications across Cook Strait, used by New Zealand's main telecommunication companies for domestic and commercial traffic and by Transpower for control of the HVDC link.
Marine life
Cook Strait is an important habitat for many
A colony of male
Transport
Regular ferry services run between Picton in the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington, operated by KiwiRail (the Interislander) and StraitNZ (Bluebridge). Both companies run services several times a day. Roughly half the crossing is in the strait, and the remainder within the Sounds. The journey covers 70 kilometres (43 mi) and takes about three hours. The strait often experiences rough water and heavy swells from strong winds, especially from the south. New Zealand's position directly athwart the roaring forties means that the strait funnels westerly winds and deflects them into northerlies. As a result, ferry sailings are often disrupted and Cook Strait is regarded as one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world.
In 1968, the TEV Wahine, a Wellington–Lyttelton ferry of the Union Company, foundered at the entrance to Wellington Harbour and capsized. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 died.[43]
In 2006, 14-metre waves resulted in the Interislander ferry DEV Aratere slewing violently and heeling to 50 degrees. Three passengers and a crew member were injured, five rail wagons were toppled and many trucks and cars were heavily damaged. Maritime NZ's expert witness Gordon Wood claimed that if the ferry had capsized most passengers and crew would have been trapped inside and would have had no warning or time to put on lifejackets.[44][45]
Air lines which operate or have operated flights across Cook Strait include Straits Air Freight Express, Air2there, CityJet and Sounds Air.
Swimming
According to
Crossing times by swimmers are largely determined by the strong and sometimes unpredictable currents that operate in the strait.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966) Cook Strait from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007. Note: This is the distance between the North Island and Arapaoa Island; some sources give a slightly larger reading of around 24.5 kilometres (15.2 mi), that between the North Island and the South Island.
- ISBN 978-0-908610-21-1.
- ISBN 0-790-00761-4., p. 99.
- ^ "TE MOANA-O-RAUKAWA". Wellington City Libraries. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "Estuary origins". National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- Whitcombe and Tombs Limited. ASIN B000881KT4.
- ISBN 978-1-86508-232-5.
- ^ Perano Homestead.
- ^ New Zealand History Online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated: 9 July 2020.
- ISBN 9781927167038.
- ^ a b Disasters and Mishaps – Shipwrecks, from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, updated 2007-09-18.
- ^ Steamer 'City of Dunedin' – Mysterious Sinking Archived 14 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Dive Lastingham Wreck". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ New Zealand History Online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated: 6 Oct 2020.
- New Zealand History Online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated: 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Historic strait crossing was balloon enthusiast's last trip". Stuff. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ New Zealand History Online, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated: 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Welcome to Airflow Hovercraft". AirFlow Hovercraft NZ. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Paraglider first to cross Cook Strait". RNZ. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ Perry, Nick (1 November 2021). "Electric plane crosses NZ's Cook Strait". Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Electric powered plane makes history in Cook Strait flight". 1News. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Lunar Semidiurnal Tide (M2). NIWA. Accessed 21 November 2020.
- ^ a b Ocean Tides and Magnetic Fields, NASA Visualization Studio, 30 December 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Stevens, Craig and Chiswell, Stephen. Ocean currents and tides: Tides. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21 September 2007.
- ^ a b c d Benign tides. Archived 1 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Energy NZ, no. 6, Spring 2008. Contrafed Publishing. Accessed 1 March 2009.
- ^ "Lunar tides in Cook Strait, New Zealand". Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
- ^ Bowman, M. J., A. C. Kibblewhite, R. Murtagh, S. M. Chiswell and B. G. Sanderson (1983) Circulation and mixing in greater Cook Strait, New Zealand. Oceanologica Acta 6(4): 383–391.
- ^ Heath, R. A., 1978. Semi‐diurnal tides in Cook Strait. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 12(2), pp. 87–97.
- ^ Heath, R. A., 1986. In which direction is the mean flow through Cook Strait, New Zealand—evidence of 1 to 4 week variability?. New Zealand journal of marine and freshwater research, 20(1), pp. 119–137.
- ^ Hadfield, M. G. and Stevens, C. L., 2021. A modelling synthesis of the volume flux through Cook Strait. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 55(1), pp. 65–93.
- ^ "Chart of Cook Strait". Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
- .
- .
- .
- ^ Doesburg, Anthony (15 April 2008). "Green light for Cook Strait energy generator trial". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ Renewable energy development: Tidal Energy: Cook Strait Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Harnessing the power of the sea. Energy NZ, vol. 1, no. 1, Winter 2007. Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Radio New Zealand.
- .
- ^ a b "Cook Strait submarine cable protection zone" (PDF). Transpower. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
- ^ Cook Strait seal colonies Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ The Marlborough Sounds. Marlborough online. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- The Dominion Post. Retrieved 10 April 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Cook Strait ferry Aratere 'nearly capsized'. NZ Herald, 22 June 2006.
- ^ New rules for ferries after horror crossing. Stuff, 31 January 2009.
- ^ Polynesian History. Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b "Cook Strait Swim". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Swimming: Coutts thrived outside comfort zone". Hawke's Bay Today. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ Joel Maxwell (19 March 2016). "Canadian psychiatrist becomes oldest female swimmer to cross Cook Strait". The Dominion Post.
- ^ Heath, R. A., 1980. Current measurements derived from trajectories of Cook Strait swimmers. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 14(2), pp. 183–188.
References
- Grady, Don (September 1982). Perano Whalers of Cook Strait, 1911–1964. Intl Specialized Book Service. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-589-01392-9.
- Harris, Thomas Frank Wyndham (1990). Greater Cook Strait. DSIR Marine and Freshwater. p. 212. ISBN 0-477-02580-3.
- Young, Victor (2009). Strait Crossing: The ferries of Cook Strait through time. Wellington, NZ: Transpress NZ. ISBN 9781877418112.
External links
- Cook Strait: Ship Wrecks, Swells and Gales
- New Zealand's Cook Strait Rail Ferries Archived 27 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine – NZ National Maritime Museum
- Cook Strait rail ferries – New Zealand History, by Ministry for Culture and Heritage
- Cook Strait Swim
- NZ: Chance to turn the tide of power supply EnergyBulletin.net
- Lewis, Keith Submarine cables. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21-Sep-2007.
- History of Cable Bay Station
- A Powerful link: The Cook Strait Cable
- NZ Documentary Film (2007) Fish & Ships. The Island Bay fishing fleet.