Fiordland
In principle, fiords are drowned valleys and are therefore comparable to the ria coast in the northern New Zealand. While ria coasts are drowned river valleys, fjords valleys were carved-out by glaciers during the last ice age, 15.000 years ago. After the ice age the rising sea-level flooded the U-shaped valleys. This sea-level rise of approximately 100 m is responsible for today's fjord land in three different ways. The increase was due to melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of the water column during the interglacial. In contrast, the vertical plate lifting due to isostatic compensation counteracts these processes. The landscape free of heavy glacier caps moves upward by lowering the surrounding crust. Today about 14 fjords with peaks at 2700 m dominate this landscape.
March 2002
Pentax MZ5, Pentax 24mm, f/22, 1/4sec, Kodak Ektachrome E6, ISO 100, polarization filter, tripod