SOUNDS

So yesterday I was looking at these pictures of destinations, and I made a list of them, because I'd like to learn more about them. The first place on my list is Milford Sound, which is in New Zealand. I admit that I had no idea what a sound was and so I decided to look it up. A sound is kind of like a channel, and is usually a large, open area of water, with land on either side. It is less protected than a bay, which is surrounded by land on three sides. A sound also tends to be deeper than a bay. The term "sound" comes from an Old English word, which means "to swim". So it is suggested that a person may possibly be able to swim accross a sound.
Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven, a natural harbour in Wales. Sheer rock faces rise out of the water on either side of the sound, and there is a lot of rain forest growth on the cliff walls. Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in the world, creating many large permanant waterfalls, and some temporary smaller ones. It is said that some of the smaller waterfalls are so high and never reach the bottom of the sound; they are carried away on the wind. Because of the amount of rainfall that occurs there, often the growth is carried away, causing tree avalanches in the sound.
There is an underwater observitory in one of the sounds bays, which allows tourists to see the black coral that grows there. Black coral is usually only found in deeper waters, but because of fresh water that is stained by tannins from the forest, the coral is allowed to grow closer to the surface in that area.
I definitely would love to go vist this place one day. Rudyard Kipling called Milford Sound the eighth Wonder of the World.
My information came from wikipedia and wisegeek.com.