Fjords in Canada are long, narrow

inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

s characterized by steep sides, created in a valley carved by

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

activity. A

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

can have two or more basins separated by sills. The bowls can have a depth of and the dividing sills can raise up to a few metres below the water surface. Mountainous glaciated areas in Canada are along the

British Columbia Coast , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

: from the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

n border along the

Portland Canal , image = Hyder Alaska IMG 0276 (22495379342).jpg , alt = , caption = Portland Canal from Hyder, Alaska , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Alaska and British Columbia , group = , coordinates ...

Indian Arm Indian Arm ( hur, səl̓ilw̓ət) is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcarra (t ...

Kingcome Inlet Kingcome Inlet is one of the lesser principal fjords of the British Columbia Coast, north and east of Broughton Island. It is sixth in sequence of the major saltwater fjords north from the 49th parallel near Vancouver and similar in width, on av ...

is a typical west coast fjord. In

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, Saglek Fiord, Nachvak Fiord, and Hebron Fiord, are in

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

. While

Western Brook Pond Western Brook Pond is a Canadian fjord or lake located in Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. It is in the Long Range Mountains, the most northern section of the Appalachian Mountains. It is surrounded by ...

, Trout River Big Pond, and

Bonne Bay Bonne Bay is a bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada. It is located on the western coast of Newfoundland and separates the Great Northern Peninsula from the rest of the island. It is a part of Gros Morne National Park. It is s ...

Gros Morne National Park Gros Morne National Park is a National Parks of Canada, Canadian national park and World Heritage Site located on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland. At , it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada after To ...

are located along the coastline of the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

valley contains a fjord. The

Saguenay Fjord Saguenay Fjord National Park (french: parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay) is a provincial park located in Quebec, Canada. In the regions of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Charlevoix, Côte-Nord, and Bas-Saint-Laurent, the park is situated along the ...

is long and deep. The

Arctic Archipelago The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). Situated in the northern extremity of No ...

features fjords such as those around Ellesmere and

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

, including

Alexandra Fiord Alexandra Fiord is a natural inlet on the Johan Peninsula of Ellesmere Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. To the east, it opens into Buchanan Bay. History Alexandra Fiord has a long and variable history, from the Paleo and Th ...

, Ellesmere Island, and

Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti (Inuktitut syllabics: ''ᑲᖏᖅᑐᐊᓗᒃ ᐅᖅᑯᖅᑎ'') formerly Sam Ford Fiord is an isolated, elongated Arctic fjord on Baffin Island's northeastern coast in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The Inuit settl ...

, Baffin Island. When a portion of the high cliff wall falls off, it may cause a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

. This occurred in the early 20th century at Western Brook Pond of Gros Morne National Park when a tsunami was created after ''Broke Off Cliff'' fell. Fjords listed here may consist of several complex waterways. These waterways may contribute to the length of the fjord. For more information on these please see the main fjord source or Wikipedia article. Some examples are

Dean Channel Dean Channel is the upper end of one of the longest inlets of the British Columbia Coast, from its head at the mouth of the Kimsquit River. The Dean River, one of the main rivers of the Coast Mountains, enters Dean Channel about below the head ...

and

Douglas Channel Douglas Channel is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Its official length from the head of Kitimat Arm, where the aluminum smelter town of Kitimat to Wright Sound, on the Inside Passage ferry route, is . The actual length o ...

. The locality of

Hagensborg Hagensborg, originally named Kristiania, is a small community in the Bella Coola Valley in British Columbia, Canada. Its census population in 2006 was 248. History Augsburg Church built in 1904 in Hagensborg The Bella Coola Valley was already th ...

in the

Bella Coola Valley The Bella Coola Valley is a relatively small but distinct region located in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the valley of the Bella Coola River and its tributaries. The region is served by BC Hwy 20, which runs fr ...

in the Dean Channel fjord was settled by Norwegian immigrants in 1894 as it reminded them of home. The total length of the fjord from the head of Dean Channel to the mouth of

Fitz Hugh Sound Fitz Hugh Sound, sometimes spelled Fitzhugh Sound, is a sound on the British Columbia Coast of Canada, located between Calvert Island and the mainland. Etymology Fitz Hugh Sound was given its name in 1785 by James Hanna, the first non-indigenous ...

is about rivalling

Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

for length. The Hardangerfjord, the Queen of fjords, at a length of is claimed to be fourth largest fjord in the world and second largest of Norway. Anaktalak Bay, Saglek Fiord and Nachvak Fiord off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador are being studied for environmental changes due to

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Increased tourism and marine traffic, contaminants from air, water or industrial pollution, changing weather patterns are affecting what once had been pristine water basins of the fjords protected by sills. The use of the word ''canal'' to name fjords or inlets on the British Columbian and

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

n coast is a legacy of the

Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest During the Age of Exploration, the Spanish Empire undertook several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Spanish claims to the region date to the papal bull of 1493, and the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494. In 1513, this ...

in the 18th century. For example,

Haro Strait The Haro Strait is one of the main channels connecting the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada from the San Juan Islands of Washington (state), Washington sta ...

between

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

was originally ''Canal de Haro''. The English cognate to the Spanish ''canal'' is "channel", which is found throughout the coast, cf. Dean Channel. Some fjords on the British Columbian coast have

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

, termed

skookumchuck Skookumchuck () is a Chinook Jargon term that is in common use in British Columbia English and occurs in Pacific Northwest English. ''Skookum'' means "strong" or "powerful", and "chuck" means water, so ''skookumchuck'' means "rapids" or "whitewat ...

s which means ''strong waters'' in Chinook Jargon). Skookumchucks are caused by the shallows and narrows near the mouth of a fjord as the water inside the fjord's depths is drawn through, to or from, the more open waters beyond. The phenomenon of

mountain-gap wind A mountain-gap wind, gap wind or gap flow is a local wind blowing through a gap between mountains. Gap winds are low-level winds and can be associated with strong winds of 20-40 knots and on occasion exceeding 50 knots. Gap winds are generally st ...

or squamish or outflow affects the fjords of Canada and Norway. The outflow winds at the Salt and Bols fjords of Norway and the

Howe Sound Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosph ...

and

Portland Inlet Portland Inlet is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the north coast of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Prince Rupert. It joins Chatham Sound opposite the Dixon Entrance. It is long and as much as wide. It drains the Portland Can ...

of Canada have been compared. European winds may be termed bora. The cold dry air of the continental interior seeks out the easier passage through the fjord valley creating hurricane-force winds. According to the definition, fjord, Western Brook Pond and Trout River Big Pond in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park, are also often described as a fjords, but are actually freshwater lakes cut off from the sea, so is not a fjord in the English sense of the term. Such lakes are sometimes called "fjord lakes". It is of interest to note that

Pissing Mare Falls Pissing Mare Falls is a tiered waterfall in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed from Burnt Woods Brook, which plunges over the edge of Big Level Plateau into Western Brook Pond. At high, with an unbroken drop of , it i ...

at high, is one of several waterfalls to drain into Western Brook Pond, Along the British Columbia Coast, a notable fjord-lake is

Owikeno Lake Owikeno Lake, also Owekeeno Lake, Owekano Lake, Oweekayno Lake and other spellings (pron. "o we KEE no"), is a large fjord lake in the Central Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It connects to the head of Rivers Inlet by the short Wannock ...

, which is a freshwater extension of

Rivers Inlet Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...

List of fjords

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjords In Canada * Lists of landforms of Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

List of fjords

See also

References

External links