fjord

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Norwegian fjord, from Old Norse fjǫrðr, from Proto-Germanic *ferþu, *ferþuz (“inlet, fjord”), from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth”) + *-tus (suffix forming action nouns from verb roots). Doublet of firth, ford, and port.

noun

1. A long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs.
   About 20 English miles beyond this river, which is the largest in Norway, the road crosses the fjord which forms the boundary of the two kingdoms [Norway and Sweden]; and whose waters but too often in former days were dyed with the life-blood of many a bold mountaineer who crossed the "border stream" never to return. 1839, T. D. W[hatley], “Section II. Norway.”, in A Hand-book for Travellers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, being a Guide to the Principal Routes in Those Countries,[…], London: John Murray,[…]; Leipzig: Black and Armstrong, →OCLC, page 73
   At last one gave a deep groan, and another declared that the spirits of the fiord were against them, and there was no doubt that their boat was now lying twenty fathoms deep, at the bottom of the creek; drawn down by the strong hand of an angry water-spirit. … Another said he would not go till he had looked abroad over the fiord, for some chance of seeing the boat. 1841, Harriet Martineau, “The Water Sprites’ Doings.”, in Feats on the Fiord. A Tale (The Playfellow; a Series of Tales to be Published Quarterly; 3), London: Charles Knight & Co.,[…], →OCLC, pages 123–124
   Like most of the larger inlets, and some of the inland lakes, the Sogne fjord is much deeper than the sea beyond, the depth in places being upwards of 4,000 feet, … Before the "glacial epoch," thousands of streams commenced the work of erosion and produced valleys and gorges. During the glacial epoch these channels were enlarged, and lake basins were hollowed out. The descending glaciers ground out fjords to their full length when the glacial epoch was at its height, but as it declined they ground out the inner parts to a still greater depth, producing the present character of the marine fjords, and giving rise to lake hollows in other places. 1894 August, Spitzbergen and Norway in August 1894: Itinerary of the Pleasure Cruise of the “S.S. Lusitania.” From 1st August to 2nd September (33 Days), London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Limited[…], →OCLC, page 46
   Disenchantment Bay, as the Yakutat Bay inlet is called north of Point Latouche, is bordered on the east by the steep hills of the peninsula and on the west by the main mountain front. Its coast is precipitous and through nearly its entire length it is a true mountain-walled fiord. The two mountain walls approach each other at Point Latouche almost at right angles, and Disenchantment Bay enters between them with a nearly north-south axis. 1909, Ralph S[tockman] Tarr, “General Physiography”, in The Yakutat Bay Region, Alaska (United States Geographical Survey, Department of the Interior, Professional Paper; 64), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, part I (Physiography and Glacial Geology), page 15
   In the center of Mount Desert Island is deep Somes Sound, almost bisecting the island and forming the only natural fjord on the entire Atlantic Coast of North America. 1951, Richard A. Hebert, “Hancock County”, in Modern Maine: Its Historic Background, People and Resources, volume II, New York, N.Y.: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, part III (A County by County Descriptive Outline of City, Town and Country in Maine), page 281
   The warm Alaska Current raises the water temperature off the coast of the monument to approximately 55°F. in the summer, while winter temperatures range from 37.5° to 40°F. Temperatures in individual fjords vary due to tidewater glaciers and fresh water flowing into the fjords …. 1973 December, “Description of the Environment”, in Proposed Harding Icefield–Kenai Fjords National Monument, Alaska: Draft Environmental Impact Statement DES 73-86, [Washington, D.C.: Alaska Planning Group, National Park Service, Department of the Interior], →OCLC, section II.A.1 (Physical Environment), page 51
   Why should the flow of water within a fjord be of interest to the geologist? After all, fjordic geomorphology has changed little over the last few thousand years. One reason is that attention has recently focused on fjords as archives of Holocene climate change. 2010, M. E. Inall, P. A. Gillibrand, “The Physics of Mid-latitude Fjords: A Review”, in J. A. Howe, W. E. N. Austin, M. Forwick, M. Paetzel, editors, Fjord Systems and Archives (Geographical Society Special Publication; no. 344), London: The Geological Society, page 17
   Fiords are glacially carved oceanic intrusions into land. They are often deep and narrow with a sill in the mouth. Waters from neighboring seas and locally supplied fresh water fill up the fiords, often leading to strong stratification. Fiords with tidewater glaciers also contain glacial ice. During transport into and stay in the fiord, mixing processes modify the properties of imported water masses. 2019, J. N. Moum, W. D. Smyth, “Upper Ocean Mixing”, in J. Kirk Cochran, Henry J. Bokuniewicz, Patricia L. Yager, editors, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, volume I (Marine Biogeochemistry), London, San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, page 75