Port Royal Sound

Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Broad River and other estuaries, in southeastern South Carolina, 40 km/25 mi northeast of Savannah, Georgia. The many islands in and around the sound include Port Royal, Parris, St Helena, and Pritchard to the north, and Hilton Head and Pinckney to the south.

Port Royal Sound stands on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. A deep-water channel runs from it to the port of Beaufort on Port Royal Island. This island lies at the head of the sound and is a tourist and fishing centre connected to the mainland and other islands by bridges. The town of Port Royal is at its southern tip. Explored by the Spanish in the early 16th century, the sound and island were given their present name by the French Huguenot mariner Jean Ribaut, who in 1562 established a short-lived colony on Parris Island. Early in the Civil War, the sound and nearby islands were occupied by Union forces, who used them as a ship repair station.