21. The Hudson as Fjord
The Hudson Highlands. Photo courtesy of Neall Burger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Storm King marks the northern entrance to the Hudson Highlands, where forested mountains slope steeply into very deep water. As the photo shows, this area's scenery is reminiscent of Norway's fjords.
Fjords are defined as valleys eroded well below sea level by glaciers, and then filled by the sea after the glaciers melt. They are deepest upstream of their mouths, where the erosive power of the glacier was greatest. By this definition, the Hudson qualifies as a fjord: it is deepest here in the Highlands - up to 175 feet deep at West Point.
