Cook Strait 4.79

4.6 star(s) from 54 votes
Wellington,
New Zealand

About Cook Strait

Cook Strait Cook Strait is one of the popular place listed under River in Wellington , Ocean in Wellington ,

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Cook Strait lies between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is 22km wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world.The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name Raukawa or Te Moana-o-Raukawa. Raukawa may mean "bitter leaves".HistoryIn Māori legend, Cook Strait was discovered by Kupe the navigator. Kupe followed in his canoe a monstrous octopus called Te Wheke-a-Muturangi across Cook Strait and destroyed it in Tory Channel or at Pātea.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.

Map of Cook Strait

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