A fjard ( sv, fjärd, ) is a large open space of water between groups of islands or mainland in archipelagos. Fjards can be found along sea coasts, in freshwater lakes or rivers. Fjard and

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, Icel ...

were originally the same word with the general meaning of sailable waterway. In

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

, fjords dominate along the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

coast while fjards dominate the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

coast.

Fjards vs. fjords vs. förden vs. rias

Although fjards and fjords are similar in that they are a glacially-formed topography, they still differ in some key ways: * Fjords are characterized by steep high

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

cliffs carved by glacial activity and often have split or branching channels. * Fjards are a glacial depression or valley that has much lower relief than a fjord. Fjards fill with eroded local materials which assists "filling" along with rising sea level since the last ice age contributing as well. Other low relief landforms that are only associated with fjards such as mud flats, salt marshes, and flood plainsABPmer and HR Wallingford. 2007
Understanding and Managing Morphological Change in Estuaries
Ch. 3 of ''The Estuary-Guide: A website based overview of how to identify and predict morphological change within estuaries.'', Joint Defra/EA Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management R&D Programme. UK Department for Environment, Food, and Public Affairs. further characterize the difference between fjords and fjards. * " Förden" of the German coast and the fjords of Danish eastern

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

together form a third type of glacial inlets. They tend to occur along older 'beheaded' river channels and open into the tideless Baltic sea. * Rias are drowned valleys, such as the

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

of Thames, Severn and Humber, firths of Tay and Forth.

Examples

Denmark

* Hjortsholm on the coast of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Republic of Ireland

* Killary Harbour on the west coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Sweden

* Kanholmsfjärden in the Stockholm archipelago in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

United Kingdom

Scotland

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree o ...

, Kirkcudbrighshrie and Wigtownshire *

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, Dunbartonshire *

Rough Firth Rough Firth is an inlet on the northern coast of the Solway Firth in the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The firth lies between Almorness Point and Castlehill Point, and contains Rough Island. The village of Kippford stands ...

, Kirkcudbrightshire * Water of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire

Wales

* Alaw Estuary, Anglesey * Pwllheli Harbour, Caernarfonshire

United States

* Somes Sound in Acadia National Park,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

.Bird, E.C.F., 2008, ''Coastal Geomorphology: An Introduction'', 2nd ed. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. West Sussex, England. Jackson, J.A., 1997, ''Glossary of Geology''. American Geological Institute. Alexandria, Virginia. Goudie, A., 2004, ''Encyclopedia of Geomorphology''. Routledge. London, England.

References

{{coastal geography Coastal and oceanic landforms Glacial landforms