riLLINa UP OF FJOEDS. 



141 



on tlie seaward side, and then become long and narrow lagunes, separ- 

 ated from the salt waves by the sandy beaches. Those gulfs, on the 



&^^ 



Fig. 53— Fjords of the South-East of Iceland. 



contrary, where great rivers discharge themselves, are gradually filled 

 up by alluvium in those parts the furthest from the ocean, and are 

 changed little by little into estuaries. Finally, many shores, among 

 others those of eastern Iceland, present a great number of fjords, 

 one beside the other, which are narrowed at the same time above and 

 below by the deposit from the sea, and that of the streams from the 

 interior. It is thus that a multitude of ancient gulfs in Scandinavia, 

 England, and France, have been gradually changed into dry land. 

 The gulfs of Christian sand in Norway, of Carentan in France, for- 

 merly projected in all directions from deep abysses, the place of 

 which is occupied now by fields and marshes. 



Whatever may be the diversity of means employed by nature in 

 filling up the ancient glacial bays, the labour is accomplished in due 



