How Norway Got Its Fjords

Thousands of years ago, Norway had no fjords at all. It was icy cold and uninhabitable. Norway was covered with meters-thick glaciers, as were its Swedish, Finnish, and Danish (overseas) neighbors. The coast of Scandinavia lay many miles further west, stretching from Denmark to Iceland.

When the last ice age ended around 10,000 BC, the glaciers melted little by little. As the ice retreated, the deep valleys — fjords — became visible, carved out by the slow-moving ice masses over hundreds of years. The meltwater flowed into the sea, and as sea levels rose, the fjords filled with water.

Thanks to its fjords, Norway boasts an enormous coastline of over 20,000 km (as long as the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole; the Dutch coastline is a mere 450 km). Some fjords wind more than 100 km inland and back again, like the magnificent Sognefjord. The fjord’s rock walls extend more than a kilometer deep below sea level and rise a kilometer above it.

Although they appear massive and inflexible, the fjords rise a few millimeters each year. The retreat of the glaciers is still impacting the landscape, which is slowly ‘rebounding’ now that it no longer bears the immense weight — billions of tons — of the ice masses.

With our sailboat, we sail deep into the fjords. From the deck, you’ll have a majestic view of the steep rocks. Above us, we regularly spot sea eagles using the thermals in the air currents between the narrow fjords. Other birds use the niches in the rocks as resting places or to build nests.

We’ll find a spot to go ashore for a beautiful hike to an icy glacier lake. Walking over the rocks, you’ll experience how the glacier wound its way through the fjord centuries ago, shaping this fascinating landscape.

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Sail with us to Norway’s most beautiful fjords!

During the Sailing Expedition and Whale Safari in Vesteralen