Fiordland

New Zealand

A rugged fiord region in the southwest of New Zealand's South Island, containing ten marine reserves and known among divers for its ocean-flooded glacier-carved sounds.

Fiordland is a mountainous region where glacier-carved valleys are flooded by the sea, forming fiords such as Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. The area contains ten protected marine reserves, the first two established in 1993. High local rainfall creates a distinctive freshwater layer over the seawater in the fiords, associated with the unusual shallow-water marine life the area is known for among divers.