In physical geography, a fjord or fiord is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounded landmasses of the northern and southern hemispheres. Norway's coastline is estimated to be 29,000 km (18,000 mi) long with its nearly 1,200 fjords, but only 2,500 km (1,600 mi) long excluding the fjords.
Geirangerfjord, Norway
A glacier in eastern Greenland flowing through a fjord carved by the movement of ice
Sørfjorden (Hardanger) with Sandvinvatnet and Odda Valley can be clearly seen as continuation of the fjord. Odda sits on the isthmus. Folgefonna on the right hand.
Muldalsfossen waterfall drops several hundred meters from the Muldalen hanging valley to Tafjorden.
A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.
Glacier of the Geikie Plateau in Greenland.
The Taschachferner in the Ötztal Alps in Austria. The mountain to the left is the Wildspitze (3.768 m), second highest in Austria.
With 7,253 known glaciers, Pakistan contains more glacial ice than any other country on earth outside the polar regions. At 62 kilometres (39 mi) in length, the pictured Baltoro Glacier is one of the world's longest alpine glaciers.
The Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru is the second-largest glaciated area in the tropics
