Admiralty Bay, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Admiralty Bay is a large indentation in the northern coast of New Zealand
's South Island
. It lies close to the northernmost mainland point of the Marlborough Sounds
, immediately to the south of D'Urville Island
.
The bay is one of the larger of numerous bays in the crenellated coast of the sounds, being 10 kilometres wide at its mouth and extending eight kilometres south. The peninsula into which it cuts is almost bisected by the bay, with a narrow isthmus only some 900 metres in width lying between the bay's southernmost extent and Hallam Cove to the south. To the northeast, the bay is open to the waters of Cook Strait
, but to the west a narrow and treacherous stretch of water French Pass
is the only maritime access.
Admiralty Bay is closely associated with Pelorus Jack
, a dolphin which became widely known in New Zealand in the first few years of the 20th century. Pelorus Jack was noted for meeting and escorting ships through French Pass, and is possibly the first individual sea creature protected by law in any country.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. It lies close to the northernmost mainland point of the Marlborough Sounds
Marlborough Sounds
The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels at the north of the South Island of New Zealand...
, immediately to the south of D'Urville Island
D'Urville Island, New Zealand
D'Urville Island is an island in the Marlborough Sounds along the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately , it is the eighth-largest island of New Zealand, and has around 52 permanent...
.
The bay is one of the larger of numerous bays in the crenellated coast of the sounds, being 10 kilometres wide at its mouth and extending eight kilometres south. The peninsula into which it cuts is almost bisected by the bay, with a narrow isthmus only some 900 metres in width lying between the bay's southernmost extent and Hallam Cove to the south. To the northeast, the bay is open to the waters of Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
, but to the west a narrow and treacherous stretch of water French Pass
French Pass
French Pass is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island, at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand, from the mainland coast. At one end is Tasman Bay, and at the other end the outer Pelorus Sound leads out to Cook Strait.French Pass has the fastest tidal...
is the only maritime access.
Admiralty Bay is closely associated with Pelorus Jack
Pelorus Jack
Pelorus Jack was a Risso's dolphin that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand, between 1888 and 1912...
, a dolphin which became widely known in New Zealand in the first few years of the 20th century. Pelorus Jack was noted for meeting and escorting ships through French Pass, and is possibly the first individual sea creature protected by law in any country.