fjord
fee-YORD
A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between steep cliffs, carved by a glacier that once flowed to the coast and scoured a valley well below sea level. When the glacier retreated and the sea flooded in, the valley became a fjord. Fjords are among the most dramatic coastal landforms on earth — sheer walls rising thousands of feet from dark water hundreds of fathoms deep. Norway's Sognefjord is over 4,000 feet deep and 125 miles long.
Etymology
Norwegian fjord, from Old Norse fjǫrðr, related to fara, to travel. A passage — the water travels inland through the mountain.
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