area 10 232 km²/3949 sq mi. National park, SW South Island, New Zealand; largest of New Zealand's national parks, with mountains, lakes and a coastline indented by fjords; established in 1904; a world heritage site.
Fiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island. Most of it is covered by the Fiordland National Park, which has an area of 12,120 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in New Zealand and one of the larger parks in the world.
The name "Fiordland" comes from the now-common variant of the Norwegian word "fjord". Fiordland features a number of fiords (often misnamed sounds), of which Milford Sound is the most famous, though Doubtful Sound is even larger and has more and longer branches.
Demographics / Economy
Fiordland has few human inhabitants and is the least-populated area of New Zealand's South Island, with no cities and many areas almost inaccessible except by boat or air.
Administration of the area was as "The County of Fiord" for part of the 20th century until it was absorbed into Wallace County.
Except for electricity generation (at the Manapouri Power Station) and some agriculture, tourism is the only other major economic factor of the region.
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