Fjords and Waterfalls

Norway is a marvelous country. It is filled with breathtaking scenery and is also one of the weathiest countries in the world. It is populated by a mixture of towering, blond descendants of the Vikings and squat, dark, indigenous peoples known as the Sami.

Perhaps nothing are as characteristic of the scenery of Norway as fjords, waterfalls and glaciers. There are literally hundreds of each and their history and formation is all intermingled. The fjords were created as the glaciers scoured the valleys between hills, scraping away dirt, rock and anything else in their path over 1000’s of years and forming U-shaped valleys with steep sides. As the glaciers receded, the sea came in creating the fjords. The continued glacial melt as well as melt from the annual snowpack cause waterfalls to come plunging over the edge of the fjords.

Our cruise ship went into a half a dozen of these over the course of our trip. The most impressive, the Geirangerfjord, was also the first that we visited. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fjord itself is a short 10 miles although you enter it from another fjord, so it seems as though you are in it for hours. When we were traveling, there was a low lying fog cover which shrouded the tops of the mountains we were passing so, many of the waterfalls just seemed to tumble down seemingly from nowhere.

There are so many wonderful shots it is almost impossible to choose a handful to post. One in particular is quite famous. It is called the Seven Sisters as there are actually seven separate falls in the same place. Incredibly, if you look very closely at the picture on the right side very near the top you can see a house. Someone actually lives right next to this beautiful setting.