Greg Weber, age 13, of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, for his question:

WHAT IS A FIORD?

A fiord is a long, narrow inlet of the ocean. It is a Norwegian word that is applied to the deep bays and inlets along the craggy coastline of Norway.

Geologists tell us that rivers cut these fiords and glaciers deepened them millions of years ago. Most fiords have steep, rocky walls with thick woods and foaming, roaring waterfalls. Small stretches of fertile farmland lie below some of these cliffs.

The coasts of Maine, British Columbia, Alaska and New Zealand also have inlets like Norway's fiords. Sea loch or firth is the name for such an inlet in Britain.

The southwest coast of the South Island of New Zealand has a large number of very interesting fiords.