Bauza Island
Bauza Island (Māori: Mauikatau) lies immediately south of the much larger Secretary Island in the outer reaches of Doubtful Sound / Patea, in Fiordland National Park on New Zealand's South Island. The less than one kilometre wide Patea passage to the south of the island is the main entrance to Doubtful Sound. To the north, the island is separated from Secretary Island by the narrow Te Awaatu Channel, also referred to as "The Gut", only 200 metres (660 ft) wide at its narrowest point. The waters between the two islands are protected by the Te Awaatu Channel (The Gut) Marine Reserve. Doubtful Sound tour boats routinely travel through this channel.
Mauikatau | |
|---|---|
Bauza Island from west, Secretary Island to the left in the background | |
Bauza Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Doubtful Sound / Patea |
| Coordinates | 45°17′30″S 166°55′0″E |
| Area | 4.8 km2 (1.9 sq mi) |
| Length | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Width | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 383 m (1257 ft) |
| Administration | |
New Zealand | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Bauza Island is uninhabited and named after Spanish naval officer Felipe Bauzá, the main cartographer of the Malaspina Expedition to the Americas, Oceania and Australasia between 1789 and 1794.