Hydrology & Glaciology

The Comau fjord is part of a 68 kilometer longitudinal structural fault that runs from north to south, profoundly remodeled with the passing of the continental glaciers during the glaciations of the Quaternary. In some places there are traces of the rising of the bed after the glaciations, in the form of banks of fossilized shellfish.

The ice field that slid through the fjord, trapped between high mountains, carved the valley to great depths, which over time has been partially refilled with sediment. Despite this sedimentation, the mountains rise up to an altitude of 2000 m while the maximum depth in the fjord is 500 m! Thus the Comau fjord is characterized by steep slopes both above and below the waterline.