Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Hanging Valley
On Monday I hiked up to the base of a hanging valley on the eastern wall of the fjord. There are actually 2 hanging valleys in this fjord, both located on the eastern wall. However, the one that I hiked is particularly spectacular. A hanging valley is a geologic feature that looks like a giant seat carved into the wall of a fjord. Here, in Ísafjörður, legend has it that a giant Icelandic troll sat down on the mountain top to dip his feet in the water and created this large cutout in the land. From the bowl of the valley, there is a wonderful view of Ísafjörður which you can see in the pictures. It was a beautiful hike and I was accompanied by Andrea (my next door neighbor), Zelia (her 18 month old daughter), and Allan (another Masters student).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Is the little land mass off the coast of Isafajodur man made or natural?
ReplyDelete~mom
Right up to my house is natural, most of the harbor is man made. Also, there is some landfill along the side of the fjord because the avalanches pose a major threat. So, they extended that part of the land so that houses could be farther from the slopes.
ReplyDelete