Cook Strait

Cook Strait
Te Moana-o-Raukawa (Māori)
Satellite image of Cook Strait taken by the Sentinel-2 mission
Cook Strait Cook Strait separates the North and South islands of New Zealand. Cook Strait Cook Strait (Oceania)
Coordinates	41°13′46″S 174°28′59″E
Basin countries	New Zealand
Min. width	22 km (14 mi; 12 nmi)
Average depth	128 m (420 ft)
Max. temperature	17.8 °C (64.0 °F) (north-western approach summer average)
Min. temperature	9.4 °C (48.9 °F) (south-eastern approach winter average)
Frozen	No

Cook Strait (Māori: Te Moana-o-Raukawa, lit. 'The Sea of Raukawa') is a strait that separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and has been described as "one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world". Regular ferry services run across the strait between Picton in the Marlborough Sounds and Wellington.

The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. The waters of Cook Strait are dominated by strong tidal flows. The tidal flow through Cook Strait is unusual in that the tidal elevation at the ends of the strait are almost exactly out of phase with one another, so high water on one side meets low water on the other. A number of ships have been wrecked in Cook Strait with significant loss of life, such as the Maria in 1851, the City of Dunedin in 1865, the St Vincent in 1869, the Lastingham in 1884, SS Penguin in 1909 and TEV Wahine in 1968.