The Physical History of the Norwegian Fjords 
5000 or 6000 feet in the central portions of these deep sea-lochs, through which the ocean waters are 
carried to the very roots of the central tableland. 
3. Age of the Scandinavian Rocks.—Without going to any length into the subject of the geological 
age and nature of the rocks bordering the Atlantic coast of Scandinavia, it may be mentioned that they 
are of great geological antiquity, and are known under the name of Archacan and Si/urian—consisting of 
varieties of granite, gneiss, hornblendic and micaceous schists, quartzites, and dolomites. They are 
often contorted or highly inclined and foliated or metamorphosed. Some of our more beautiful marbles 
to be seen in public and private buildings come from Norway or Sweden, as they are susceptible of a 
fine polish and are exceedingly hard. These rocks seem to have constituted a portion of a primeval 
continent ; and while in the European area to the south strata with organic remains were being deposited 
under the ocean, those of Norway constituted land. Scandinavia was unsubmerged, and as the Archaean 
age seems to have been azoic, its rocks are destitute of fossils. This most ancient of continents appears 
to have extended from Northern Russia westward into the British Isles, to Greenland and Labrador, and 
was in form a vast undulating plateau. From this elevated tableland streams descended, eroding their 
channels and supplying sediment to build up the newer formations over the bed of the ocean during 
successive geological periods. In such a manner, we may suppose, the channels now forming the fjords 
had their origin, and became wider and deeper as time went on. From all this it will be seen that the 
fjords were river-valleys of immense geological antiquity, and have assumed their present form and 
position owing to partial submergence. 
It is impossible to view the lofty cliffs of the Romsdal, the Gudvangen, the Sandven, and other 
valleys, rising from 3000 to 4000 feet from the water’s edge, without being impressed by the fact that 
the erosion of such valleys must have taken an enormous lapse of time for the streams to accomplish even 
after allowance is made for the effects of glacial action at a recent period ; and from the fact that a large 
number of geological formations are absent in the Scandinavian peninsula, we may conclude that, from the 
time of the Silurian to the Tertiary ages, the peninsula remained mainly in the position of unsubmerged 
land, during which rain, frost, snow, and river-action had free play in eroding the existing channels. 
The outcome of these natural operations is grandly displayed at the profound gorge of Stalheim, 
which comes suddenly into view as the traveller approaches the Vossevangen valley, and is calculated to 
impress him with a feeling not only of admiration, but of awe; a feeling shared by the late Professor 
James Forbes when viewing the Sogne Fjord, into which the Vossevangen immediately descends. 
4. Unequal Depths of the Fjords.—Not less profound must be our astonishment when we come to 
realise the great depths to which some of the larger fjords descend below the surface of the sea,as we have 
already noticed. These depths are, however, very unequal; for, while that of the Sogne descends to 
almost 4000 feet (665 fathoms), the Hardanger Fjord, a few miles farther south, only descends to 2550 
feet (425 fathoms), the Volden to 2298 feet (383 fathoms), and the Nord to 1800 feet (300 fathoms) ; 
these two latter lying some distance north of the Sogne. Now, as the Sogne Fjord is by much the 
largest of the Scandinavian sea-lochs, and drains a larger tract of mountain land, there would seem to be 
a clear connection between their size and their depth; as would be expected under the view that they 
have been formed under the erosive action whether of rivers or of ice, or of both.? 
5. Cause of the Rapid Shallowing of the Fjords seaward.—It has already been shown that the fjords 
attain their maximum of depth near their central areas, decreasing upwards towards their sources, as 
might be expected ; but also in the direction of their outlet along the western coast. This, in all 
probability, is due to two causes. First, it was over the central part that the ice, during the earliest 
glacial epoch, attained its greatest thickness, and consequently its greatest erosive power in deepening the 
1 These important results are derived from the soundings of our own Admiralty Charts, transferred from the Norwegian surveys, and ought 
to be consulted by all travellers amongst the Norse sea-lochs and valleys. It may be well to state that the erosive action of a glacier is due to the 
blocks of rock, stones, and sand which are enclosed in the glacial ice ; pure ice has probably little or no erosive effect. 
i) 
