I Hiked to the "Only Fjord in the Eastern United States." Here's What I Learned…

Last weekend on October 9th, 2022, I had the pleasure of hiking up Acadia Mountain, which has a peak of 681 feet. Acadia Mountain isn’t just a plain-old, typical mountain you can find anywhere else. This short mountain is part of a fascinating and unique geological formation.

Located in Acadia National Park in Maine, Somes Sound is known as the "only fjord in the United States." It’s a 5-mile-long inlet that splints Mount Desert Island into eastern and western halves. Mount Desert Island is home to the majority of Acadia National Park.

This isn't true.

But we'll get to that in a moment. First, let's talk about what a fjord is…

What is a fjord?

Fjords are long, narrow inlets between steep cliffs or mountains that were created by a glacier.

Fjords are typically found in:

-Norway

-Iceland

-Ireland

-Scotland

-Sweden

-Alaska

-Washington state

-Russia

-Canada

-New Zealand

Plot twist

Now, back to Somes Sound. It’s not “the only fjord in the eastern United States.”

There is another fjord in the eastern United States. The Hudson River in New York is home to a fjord between Peekskill and Newburgh.

Also, Somes Sound isn't a fjord. Say what now?

If it’s not a fjord, then what is it?

Somes Sound is known as a fjard.

A fjard is "a smaller glacial embayment drowned by the sea."(-13) Fjards are smaller, fjord-like ocean inlets formed by glacier activity.

Fjards have lower relief cliffs compared to fjords, meaning the surrounding mountains have lower peaks. Somes Sound has a large relief of 300 meters from the deepest area of the inlet to the summit of the tallest mountain surrounding it. But most fjords have reliefs of roughly 1000 meters or larger. And the water depth of Somes Sound is shallower than fjords too.

Somes Sound isn't deep enough to be considered a true fjord, as it only reaches a depth of 175 feet or 50 meters at its deepest point. Most fjords reach depths of hundreds of meters.

And it doesn't have oxygen-deprived sediments like the Norwegian fjords.

Fjards are formed between mainland or archipelagos (island chains). Glacial activity, not river erosion, creates fjards.

Fjards are found in:

-The Baltic Sea coast

-Ireland

-Denmark

-Sweden

-Scotland

-Wales

A fjard isn’t a disappointment

While Somes Sound isn't a true fjord, it's still a breathtaking place to visit.

It's the only fjard in the eastern United States.

Somes Sound is the most famous fjard in the entire U.S.

Somes Sound may even be the only fjard in the U.S. I couldn't find any other fjard examples in the U.S. after 2 hours of research.

Regardless, I’m grateful to have this stunning location in my home state. My hike was well worth the effort to see the stunning views. It was a short hike too. It only took 30 minutes to hike from the base to the summit. Even with a few stops along the way!

Wrapping up

What do you think? Are fjards still interesting to you? Or are they too boring compared to the larger fjords?

Do you have any interesting geological features near you? Comment to let me know!

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