The Fjords Of Norway

During the last Ice Age, Norway was covered with mighty glaciers. These ice rivers moved slowly to the sea, scraping away the rock to produce steep-sides, immensely deep, U - shaped valleys.
          A fjord is often only 18 m or so deep at its mouth, but near the head of the valley it may be ten times deeper.     

       When the ice melted about 10,000 years ago, the sea filled up the valleys, which the Norwegians named 'fjords'.       

 

     There are fjords in Canada, New Zealand and Chile, but the greatest are in Norway. The fjords of Norway were formed by glaciers gouging out deep, U-shaped valleys as they slid towards the sea.
     
          The west coast is slashed by these long, narrow, sea- filled channels, The fjords are very  beautiful , although also bleak, lonely and threatening.    

    The Sognefjord in Norway is the second longest fjord in the world at 127 miles . The longest , named Scoresby Sund, lies in Greenland, extends 217 miles inland and is 4,900 feet deep. Scoresby Sund is one of the deepest fjords in the world.

         The Naeroyfjord is one of the world's most beautiful and dramatic fjords. In 2005, it was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This 18 kilometre long fjord is only 500 metres wide in some parts. It is a branch of the Sognefjord.

         

Geirangerfjord is one of the most beautiful and mysterious of the Norwegian fjords. Streaming into it down sheer rock walls are many waterfalls, such as the Bridal Veil and the Seven Sisters. At its head is the village of Geiranger, reached only by a road that twists 1,000 m down the mountainside.