Fjord

A fjord (sometimes written fiord, notably in New Zealand English) is a glacially overdeepened valley, usually narrow and steep-sided, extending below sea level and filled with salt water. In Norway, some fresh-water lakes which have formed in long glacially carved valleys with terminal moraines blocking the outlet are named fjords, as well.

Locations

Fjords are found all along the coast of:

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• Norway
• Iceland
• Greenland
• Labrador
• Montenegro
• Sweden
• the south and west coasts of Newfoundland and the Labrador coast
• the west coast of Scotland (where called "sea lochs")
• the west coast of Ireland (Ireland's only fjord is in Killary Harbour near Leenane, County Galway)
• the southwest corner of New Zealand (see Fiordland)
• British Columbia down to Puget Sound
• in the Saguenay region in Quebec
• the south and west coasts of Alaska
• southern Chile
• on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Germany
• in parts of Antarctica, particularly the Antarctic Peninsula
• various Arctic and Sub-antarctic islands

The longest fjords in the world are:

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• Scoresby Sund on Greenland, (350 km)
• Sognefjord in Norway (203 km)
• Hardangerfjord in Norway (179 km)

The long fjord-like bays of the New England coast are sometimes referred to as "fiards". The only true fjord in New England is Somes Sound in Maine. It is located on Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park.

Related Topics:
New England - Maine - Mount Desert Island - Acadia National Park

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The Lim bay in Istria, Croatia, is sometimes called "Lim fjord" although it is not actually a fjord carved by glacial erosion but instead a ria dug by the river Pazinčica. The Croats call it Limski kanal which is also inaccurate, in another way.

Related Topics:
Lim - Istria - Croatia - Ria - Croat

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A Limfjord also exists in the north of Denmark, which is not a real fjord either, and is the one which would deserve to be called a channel, since it now separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of Jutland.

Related Topics:
Limfjord - Denmark - Channel - Vendsyssel-Thy - Jutland

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