How did the Ice Age shape Norway’s valleys and coastline?

During the Quaternary Period's Ice Age, repeated glaciation profoundly transformed Norway’s landscape through intense scouring and erosion.1

As glaciers moved, they flowed through existing V-shaped valleys, widening and deepening them into the characteristic U-shaped troughs that define the region today. When these deep, steep-walled valleys were later partially submerged by the ocean, they formed the iconic fjords that characterize the western coastline. The erosive power of these glaciers was immense; for example, the Sogn Fjord reaches depths exceeding 1,300 meters, a feature created by glaciers that were once nearly 2,000 meters thick.12

Beyond shaping these valleys, glacial movement scoured and polished the exposed bedrock, which now covers about 40 percent of the country. Enormous quantities of soil, stone, and gravel were transported by the ice and deposited as far away as present-day Denmark and northern Germany.1