A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea with steep sides, formed where a glacier carved a valley below sea level and the sea flooded in when the ice melted.

How were Norway's fjords formed?

By glaciers flowing from the mountains to the sea during many ice ages. Each advance deepened and widened the valleys into steep-sided U shapes, and the sea filled them once the ice retreated.

How tall is the Seven Sisters waterfall?

About 410 metres. It is made up of seven separate streams on the northern wall of the Geirangerfjord, fullest in early summer when the snow melts.

Which is the longest fjord in Norway?

The Sognefjord, about 205 kilometres long and around 1,300 metres deep at its deepest point.

Why is fjord water green?

Meltwater from glaciers carries very fine rock flour, which scatters light and gives many fjords a green or turquoise colour.

Can I explore a Norwegian fjord in the app?

Yes. You can land on the shore of a fjord modelled on the Geirangerfjord in interactive 3D, see the waterfalls, swim and dive, and change the sky, including the northern lights.

Drowned glacial valleys between kilometre-high walls and roaring waterfalls

Fjords

3D landscape · Geirangerfjord, Norway

Land here and explore →

A fjord is a long, narrow arm of the sea with steep sides, formed where glaciers dug valleys far below sea level and the ocean flooded in when the ice melted. Norway's west coast is cut by hundreds of them, and the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord are protected together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this app you can land on a small green shore at the foot of a fjord wall modelled on the Geirangerfjord, look across at the waterfalls on the opposite cliffs and swim or dive into the deep, still water in interactive 3D.

Fjords combine some of the most dramatic scenery on the planet with a gentle climate for their latitude. Warm Atlantic water and westerly winds keep the coast largely ice-free in winter, while the sheltered water inside can be calm as a mirror. People have farmed on tiny ledges high above the water, sailed the fjords for centuries and today come from all over the world to see them.

Key facts

Model setting: Geirangerfjord, western NorwayAround 62.1°N, a branch of the Storfjorden system
UNESCO World Heritage: 2005West Norwegian Fjords — Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord
Geirangerfjord length: About 15 kmWith mountains rising well over 1,000 m on either side
Seven Sisters waterfall: About 410 m tallSeven separate streams falling side by side
Longest fjord in Norway: Sognefjord, about 205 kmAlso the deepest, at about 1,300 m
Norway's coastline: About 100,000 kmIncluding the fjords and islands
Carved by: Glaciers over many ice agesEach advance deepened the valleys further
Word origin: Old Norse fjǫrðrA place to travel across, a crossing

How fjords form

Fjords begin as river valleys. During the ice ages of the last few million years, glaciers flowed down these valleys from the mountains to the sea, again and again. Ice is far more erosive than water: a valley glacier hundreds of metres thick grinds away the rock beneath it, widening and deepening the valley into a characteristic U shape with steep sides and a broad floor. Because the glaciers were so thick, they could carve their beds far below sea level.

When the ice finally melted, the sea flowed into these deep troughs. Side valleys that held smaller glaciers were left hanging high above the main valley, which is why so many waterfalls tumble straight off the cliffs into the water. Many fjords are deepest well inside the coast and have a shallower sill near the mouth, a ridge of bedrock or glacial debris where the ice lost its erosive power as it met the open sea.

The Geirangerfjord and its waterfalls

The Geirangerfjord is a branch of the Storfjorden system in the county of Møre og Romsdal. About 15 kilometres long, it winds between steep mountains that rise well over a kilometre above the water, with waterfalls pouring down the walls, especially after snowmelt in early summer. Together with the Nærøyfjord further south, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 as one of the most outstanding examples of fjord landscape on Earth.

Its most famous waterfall is the Seven Sisters (De syv søstrene), seven separate streams falling side by side about 410 metres down the northern wall. Legend says the sisters are being courted by the Suitor (Friaren), a waterfall on the opposite side of the fjord. Their flow varies through the year, fullest when the snow melts in late spring and early summer.

Deep, layered water

Fjords can be astonishingly deep. Norway's longest fjord, the Sognefjord, runs about 205 kilometres inland and reaches a depth of around 1,300 metres, deeper than many parts of the North Sea outside it. The cliffs above and the depths below together can make a relief of well over two kilometres from mountaintop to fjord floor.

Fjord water is often layered. Fresh meltwater from rivers and waterfalls floats on top of denser salt water, giving many fjords their striking green or turquoise colour from fine glacial silt. Behind a shallow sill, the deepest water may be renewed only occasionally, so conditions on the bottom can differ greatly from those at the surface.

Farms on the ledges

Where the fjord walls flatten into ledges, people once built small farms, clinging to the mountainside hundreds of metres above the water. Around the Geirangerfjord, shelf farms such as Skageflå and Knivsflå were worked for generations, reached by steep paths and ladders. Families kept goats and sheep and grew what they could on the tiny fields. Most were abandoned in the twentieth century and are now cared for as cultural heritage and popular hiking destinations.

The fjord itself was the main road. Before modern roads and tunnels, boats carried people, animals and goods between the farms and villages, and the fjords remain busy today with ferries, local boats and, in summer, cruise ships.

Rockslides and fjord tsunamis

The steep walls that make fjords so beautiful can also be dangerous. When large masses of rock break off and plunge into the water, they can create tsunamis that race along the fjord. Norway has experienced several deadly events of this kind, including in Tafjord and Loen in the 1900s and 1930s.

Today unstable slopes are carefully monitored. One of the best known is Åkerneset in the Sunnylvsfjorden, close to Geiranger, where a large section of mountainside is slowly moving. Instruments track it continuously, and early warning systems are in place for the communities that could be affected.

Fjords around the world

Fjords form wherever glaciers once reached the sea through mountainous terrain. Besides Norway, there are spectacular fjords in Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, western Canada and Alaska, southern Chile and the Fiordland region of New Zealand. Greenland's Scoresby Sund is often described as the largest fjord system in the world.

Glaciers are still carving fjords today in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska, where tidewater glaciers flow directly into the sea and calve icebergs into fjords that will, in the far future, look like Norway's.

Surprising facts about Fjords

Fjords can be deeper than the sea outside them: the Sognefjord reaches about 1,300 metres.
Glaciers carved fjord floors far below sea level; the sea only flooded in after the ice melted.
The Seven Sisters waterfall is seven separate streams falling side by side.
Families once farmed tiny ledges hundreds of metres above the Geirangerfjord.
Counting every fjord and island, Norway's coastline is around 100,000 kilometres long.
Many fjords are guarded by a shallow sill at the mouth, so their deepest water lies far inland.

Frequently asked questions

What is a fjord?: A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea with steep sides, formed where a glacier carved a valley below sea level and the sea flooded in when the ice melted.
How were Norway's fjords formed?: By glaciers flowing from the mountains to the sea during many ice ages. Each advance deepened and widened the valleys into steep-sided U shapes, and the sea filled them once the ice retreated.
How tall is the Seven Sisters waterfall?: About 410 metres. It is made up of seven separate streams on the northern wall of the Geirangerfjord, fullest in early summer when the snow melts.
Which is the longest fjord in Norway?: The Sognefjord, about 205 kilometres long and around 1,300 metres deep at its deepest point.
Why is fjord water green?: Meltwater from glaciers carries very fine rock flour, which scatters light and gives many fjords a green or turquoise colour.
Can I explore a Norwegian fjord in the app?: Yes. You can land on the shore of a fjord modelled on the Geirangerfjord in interactive 3D, see the waterfalls, swim and dive, and change the sky, including the northern lights.

Keep exploring

The landscapes in Ember’s Universe are procedural 3D scenes modelled on real places. The landforms, plants and light follow the real thing, but the details are generated, not mapped.

Sources