How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world?
Approach · directive: “how / why”
What it asks · Explain the glacial process behind fjords and then why the resulting landscape is so scenic.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Explain: how glaciers carve and the sea drowns the valleys that become fjords
- Explain: why fjord landscapes rank among the most picturesque in the world
Open with · NCERT describes fjords as very deep glacial troughs filled with sea water along high-latitude shorelines, as in Norway, Chile and New Zealand; ice made them and made them beautiful.
Cover
- Glacial erosion: valley glaciers pluck and abrade rock, turning V-shaped river valleys into U-shaped troughs with steep sides.
- Over-deepening and sill: thick ice cuts deepest inland; near the mouth it thins, leaving a shallow rock sill.
- Drowning: post-glacial sea-level rise floods the trough, giving an indented coast where hillsides drop sharply into water.
- Hanging valleys and truncated spurs left by smaller tributary glaciers.
- Scenery: Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord walls rise up to 1,400 m and plunge 500 m below sea level (UNESCO).
- Waterfalls, forests, glacial lakes and still mirror-like water; UNESCO World Heritage since 2005.
Close with · Fjords are living textbooks of glacial geomorphology; guarding them under the World Heritage Convention keeps their science and their scenery intact together.
Add value (verified)
- UNESCO: Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord are among the world's longest and deepest fjords and among the most scenically outstanding.West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord — UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗“The two fjords, among the world’s longest and deepest, are considered as archetypical fjord landscapes and among the most scenically outstanding anywhere.”
- UNESCO: their rock walls rise up to 1,400 m from the Norwegian Sea and extend 500 m below sea level, with numerous waterfalls.West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord — UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗“rise up to 1,400 m from the Norwegian Sea and extend 500 m below sea level. The sheer walls of the fjords have numerous waterfalls”
- The West Norwegian Fjords were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005.West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord — UNESCO World Heritage Centre ↗“West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord (UNESCO/NHK) Norway Date of Inscription: 2005”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 227words · Minimalist IAS
NCERT describes fjords as very deep glacial troughs filled with sea water along high-latitude shorelines, with famous examples in Norway, Chile and New Zealand. Ice made them, and ice also made them beautiful.
How fjords are formed
- Glacier fills river valley
- Ice carves trough below sea level
- Ice retreats
- Sea drowns trough
- Fjord with a sill
- Glacial erosion: moving ice plucks and abrades rock, turning V-shaped river valleys into steep U-shaped troughs.
- Over-deepening: thick ice cuts deepest inland; near the mouth it thins, leaving a shallow rock sill behind which the water stays deep.
- Drowning: post-glacial sea-level rise floods the trough, giving an indented coast where hillsides drop sharply into the water.
- Hanging valleys: smaller tributary glaciers cut shallower troughs that now hang above the fjord.
Why they are among the most picturesque areas
- Vertical scale: in Norway's Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, rock walls rise up to 1,400 m from the sea and extend 500 m below it.
- Moving water: hanging valleys pour waterfalls down sheer walls, while rivers link forests, glacial lakes and glaciers.
- Still mirror: the sheltered water behind the sill reflects cliff, snow and sky.
- Global recognition: UNESCO inscribed both fjords in 2005 as archetypal fjord landscapes, among the most scenically outstanding anywhere.
Fjords are living textbooks of glacial geomorphology; guarding them under the World Heritage Convention keeps their science and their scenery intact together.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
