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Geological Formations

Fjord

Erosional and Karst Formations

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A fjord is a long, narrow inlet of the sea with steep sides, occupying a valley that was carved by a glacier and later flooded by rising sea water after the ice retreated. Fjords are found along the coasts of Norway, Antarctica, the Arctic, and other formerly glaciated regions of the northern and southern hemispheres. Norway's coastline, measured in a straight line, is roughly 2,500 kilometers, but grows to about 29,000 kilometers when its nearly 1,200 fjords are traced in full, an extreme case of the coastline paradox. Fjords are considered the glacial counterpart of rias, which form the same way but by a drowned river valley rather than a glacial one.

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