KnowraFjordFjordA fjord is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides, typically formed when seawater floods a valley carved by a glacier.BriefConnectGlacial erosion: The removal and transport of rock and sediment by moving glacier ice. Glaciers excavate the valleys that later become fjords.Glacier: A persistent body of dense ice that moves under its own weight over land. Fjords inherit their shape from the movement of glaciers through valleys.Fjord ecosystem: The interacting organisms and physical conditions of a fjord and its surrounding shores. Strong depth gradients and limited water exchange create distinctive habitats.Sognefjord: A fjord in western Norway and the country’s longest and deepest fjord. Its great length and depth exemplify the scale of Norwegian fjords.U-shaped valley: A broad valley with a flat floor and steep sides, commonly carved by a glacier. Its cross-section is the characteristic shape of a fjord’s glacial precursor.Glacial valley: A valley widened and deepened by glacier erosion. A flooded glacial valley is the basic landform from which a fjord develops.Fjord circulation: The movement and mixing of water within a fjord and between it and the open sea. Sills and freshwater inflow govern how oxygen, nutrients, and pollutants move through fjords.Geirangerfjord: A branch of Storfjord in western Norway, known for steep walls and waterfalls. Its dramatic relief makes it a well-known example of a narrow mountain fjord.Overdeepening: Glacial excavation that leaves a valley floor below adjacent sea level or downstream terrain. It can make fjords exceptionally deep, sometimes with a shallower sill at the mouth.Ria: A coastal inlet formed when the sea floods a river valley. Rias are also drowned valleys, but their branching form follows river drainage rather than glacial excavation.Show all 21Linked from 16 pagesGlacial landformBroader topic: Fjords preserve deeply eroded valleys now occupied by seawater.Coast MountainsRelated: Fjords cut into the range’s western flank where glacial valleys meet the sea.EstuaryCompared with: Fjords can have estuarine salinity layering, but their defining feature is glacial origin.GlaciationBroader topic: Fjords show how glacial erosion can leave valleys below sea level.Thurston IslandRelated: Glacially cut inlets mark parts of the island’s rugged coast.Putorana PlateauCompared with: Putorana’s glacial troughs resemble fjords but remain inland and lake-filled.Coastal geomorphologyBroader topic: Fjords reveal how glacial erosion and later marine flooding create coastal relief.Cliffed coastCompared with: Its steep walls are chiefly glacial in origin, not wave-cut coastal cliffs.Show all 16