Browne Falls

Doubtful Sound, like any other fiord of Southland, is adorned with numerous waterfalls. Many of these falls are considered to be temporary – falling during the rains. But, as the rain here is almost every day – these falls are falling almost permanently.

Browne Falls are truly perennial because they are fed by Browne Lake – but otherwise, they do not differ too much from the other falls in Doubtful Sound.

Direct horizontal distance between the lake and Doubtful Sound is 1,000 m, height difference – 836 m. The stream though is not straight – it makes a 1,130 m long horizontal distance between the lake and the fiord. Thus the angle of falls is "just" 42°. There are numerous such obliquely flowing streams in the mountains of the world and there is no clear line drawn between "mountain stream" and "waterfall".

Another height of falls given is 619 m (1). It is hard to tell how this height has been obtained, or rather – which part of the stream has been excluded from the height because Browne Falls has several plunges along their way (some count 6). Maybe, in the beginning, the upper part of the falls is excluded because there are no steep plunges yet. It is assessed that the tallest single drop closer to the upper part of the falls is approximately 244 m tall (2).

Waterfall falls down amidst lush vegetation, formed by old-growth Nothofagus rainforest. In spite of the somewhat critical notes above, this is a great natural attraction, supplementing the gorgeous scenery of Doubtful Sound.

References

1. Johnny T. Cheng, World of Waterfalls, Browne Falls. Accessed on January 15, 2011
2. Bryan Swan & Dean Goss, World Waterfall Database, Browne Falls.