The currents eroded the drift, and exposed fresh rock surfaces to decreased pressure, which were also subject to disintegration. The disintegration and erosion by currents formed deep channels along the coasts. The process of disintegration was enhanced by continued erosion. This can explain the great depths of fjords, as well as their irregular basins of varying depth, that are problematic in the glacial interpretation. The process of pothole formation, apparently associated with the origin of some fjords, is also characteristic of the disintegration.
Fjords occur in areas where the land rises steeply from the sea.
Their origin is associated with differential uplift, erosion by catastrophic currents, and the disintegration mechanism which formed the drift.