Mason Blake
The term 'sound' has a few different meanings depending on the context. In geography, a sound is a narrow passage of water that separates landmasses. For example, Long Island Sound separates Long Island from the eastern shores of the Bronx, Westchester County, and southern Connecticut. The term 'sound' is derived from the Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse word 'sund', which means 'swimming' or 'strait'. In German, 'Sund' is used for place names in the Baltic Sea, and in Swedish and Norwegian, 'sund' is the general term for any strait. In other contexts, 'sound' can refer to the noise made by water, such as waves crashing against a shore or a waterfall.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | A sound is a strait or the narrowest part of a strait, or a relatively narrow passage of water between the mainland and an island. It can also refer to an inlet, bay, or recessed portion of the ocean. |
| Etymology | The term "sound" comes from the Old Norse word "sund", which means "swimming" or "strait". It is also documented in Old Norse and Old English as "gap" or "narrow access". |
| Geographic Examples | Currituck Sound, Pamlico Sound, Puget Sound, Marlborough Sound, Camden Sound, Howe Sound, Øresund, Plymouth Sound, Long Island Sound, Albemarle Sound, Bogue Sound, Mississippi Sound, Darwin Sound, Howe Sound |
| Cultural Significance | The sound of water holds cultural significance, as evidenced by its mention over 600 times in the Bible. In regions with limited access to water, such as Israel and Bangladesh, the sound of water is cherished as the sound of life. |
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What You'll Learn
The origin of the word 'sound'
The word "sound" has a rich etymology and multiple meanings, one of which relates to bodies of water.
In the context of geography, a "sound" refers to a long passage of water, often connecting two larger bodies of water or forming a channel between the mainland and an island. This usage of the word "sound" is particularly prevalent in North American regions explored by the British in the late 18th century, such as the northwest coast of North America. Examples include Howe Sound in British Columbia and Puget Sound in Washington State.
The term "sound" in this context is derived from the Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse word "sund," which means "swimming" or "strait." The word "sund" is also found in Old Norse and Old English, where it means "gap" or "narrow access." This suggests a relation to verbs meaning "to separate" in various languages, such as "absondern" and "aussondern" in German.
In Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish languages, "sund" is the general term for any strait and is part of place names worldwide. The word "sound" in the names of geographical features, such as Plymouth Sound in England, further reinforces this connection to bodies of water.
The usage of the word "sound" to describe these bodies of water may be a throwback to the days of large sailing ships. When navigating stormy seas, finding the calmer and safer waters of a harbor would bring relief, signifying being "safe and sound."
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The difference between a sound and a fjord
The words "sound" and "fjord" evoke images of majestic, untamed landscapes: dazzling mountain reflections gleaming in deep, placid waters; ice-encrusted peaks soaring above sweeping, submerged valleys. Both are coastal landforms with distinct features that differentiate one from the other. They are among the most magical places on Earth, and their names have a shared origin in the Old Norse language of the Vikings.
A sound is a strait or the narrowest part of a strait. It is a relatively narrow passage of water that separates a coastline from an island or the mainland. It can also be an inlet, bay, or recessed portion of the ocean. The term "sound" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse word "sund", meaning "swimming" or strait. In Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, "sund" is the general term for any strait. Sounds are often protected anchorages and can be part of most large islands.
A fjord, on the other hand, is an underwater valley carved by glaciers. Generally narrow, with steep-sided mountains on either side, these U and V-shaped valleys were formed by ancient rivers of ice that have since disappeared. Because these valleys are below sea level, they have been filled with seawater, creating the fjords we see today. The Norwegian word "fjord" translates to "where one fares through". Fjords are commonly found in regions where there is present or past glaciation below current sea level.
While both sounds and fjords are spectacular, they differ in their formation. Sounds are usually formed by the flooding of a river valley, whereas fjords are formed by glacial activity. Sounds are often wider than fjords and have a more gently sloping topography.
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How sound in water differs from sound in air
Sound is a wave created by vibrations. These vibrations create areas of more and less densely packed particles. Sound waves need a medium to travel through, such as air or water.
Sound waves travel faster in denser substances because neighbouring particles will more easily bump into one another. Sound moves faster in water (1500 meters/sec) than in air (about 340 meters/sec) because the mechanical properties of water differ from air.
The decibel scale is used to measure the amplitude of a sound. The amplitude of a wave is related to the amount of energy it carries. A high amplitude wave carries a large amount of energy, and a low amplitude wave carries a small amount of energy. When we describe a sound as loud or soft, scientists say that the sound has a high or low amplitude or intensity. If you increase the amplitude of a sound, you are making it louder.
The reference pressure in air differs from that in water. Therefore, a 150 dB sound in water is not the same as a 150 dB sound in air. Sound levels given in dB in water are not the same as sound levels given in dB in air due to differences in reference intensities. Scientists have agreed to use as the reference intensity for underwater sound the intensity of a sound wave with a pressure of 1 micropascal (μPa). The reference level used in air (20 µPa @ 1m) was selected to match human hearing sensitivity.
Sound in the air soon becomes less loud as you get farther from the source. This is because the waves' energy quickly gets lost along the way. Sound keeps its energy longer when travelling through water because the particles can carry the sound waves better.
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Examples of bodies of water called 'sounds'
The term "sound" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse word "sund", which means "swimming" or strait. In Swedish and Norwegian languages, "sund" is the general term for any strait. A sound is a relatively narrow passage of water between the mainland and an island, an inlet, bay, or recessed portion of the ocean. It is also used for bodies of open water not fully open to the ocean. Here are some examples of bodies of water called sounds:
Currituck Sound
Currituck Sound is one of the largest sounds on the East Coast of the United States, but it is unique in that it is not a tidal estuary, making it a virtually freshwater sound. It fits the definition of a sound as a narrow passage of water, separating the mainland from an island.
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound is another large sound in North Carolina, which lies between the mainland and the Outer Banks barrier beaches.
Puget Sound
Puget Sound in Washington is an inlet containing large islands. It was named by the British during their exploration of the northwest coast of North America in the late 18th century.
Howe Sound
Howe Sound is located in British Columbia and was also named by the British during their exploration of the region. It is an inlet containing large islands.
Øresund
Øresund, sometimes translated into English as "The Sound", is a body of water between Sweden and Denmark. It is the main waterway between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
Antarctic Sound
Antarctic Sound separates the Joinville Island group from the northeast end of the Antarctic Peninsula.
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The Sound as a name for a stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden
The Sound is the common international name for Øresund, a stretch of water that separates Denmark and Sweden. It is a strait that forms the Danish-Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait is approximately 73 miles long and varies in width from 2.5 to 17 miles. The narrowest point is between Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden.
The Sound is one of the busiest waterways in the world, connecting the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean via the Kattegat and Skagerrak. It is one of four waterways that provide this connection, the others being the Great Belt, the Little Belt, and the Kiel Canal. The Sound's busy status as a sea lane is also due to the Øresund Bridge, which connects the Danish capital of Copenhagen to the Swedish city of Malmö. The bridge connects a bi-national metropolitan area with close to 4 million inhabitants.
The term 'sound' is derived from the Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse word 'sund', which means 'swimming' or 'strait'. In the more general northern European usage, a sound is a strait or the narrowest part of a strait. In Scandinavia and around the Baltic Sea, there are over a hundred straits named 'Sund', typically named after the island they separate from the continent or a larger island.
The Sound has a minimum depth of 23 feet and a surface current flowing up to 3 to 4 miles per hour toward the Kattegat. Ice in the almost tideless strait may impede navigation in severe winters. Three large islands lie in The Sound: Amager (partly embraced by Copenhagen), Ven, and Saltholme. These islands divide the waters into the channels of Drögden (west) and Flinterenden (east).
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Frequently asked questions
A sound is a relatively narrow passage of water between the mainland and an island. It is also an inlet, bay, or recessed portion of the ocean.
The word "sound" stems from the Old Norse word "`sund", which means "swimming" or "strait".
Examples of sounds include Currituck Sound, Pamlico Sound, and Puget Sound.
While both sounds and fjords refer to majestic, untamed landscapes with sweeping, submerged valleys, a sound is usually formed by the flooding of a river valley, resulting in a topography that is less narrow and more gently sloping than a fjord.
Sounds are commonly found in areas explored by the British in the late 18th century, particularly the northwest coast of North America.
