Magdalene Thoresen, Henrik Ibsen's mother-in-law, said of the area: This fjord is surrounded by some of the steepest mountains on the entire west coast.

It is very narrow and has no habitable shore area, for the precipitous heights rise in sheer and rugged strata almost straight out of the water.

There are, however, a few mountain farms here, and of these one or two have such hazardous access, by paths that wind around steep precipices, and by bridges that are fixed to the mountain with iron bolts and rings, that they bear witness in a most striking way to the remarkable powers of invention which the challenges of nature have developed in man.

[6]The two most notable waterfalls in the Geiranger Fjord are Seven Sisters Falls and the Suitor (Nynorsk Friaren).

A collapse would produce a tsunami, hitting several nearby towns including Geiranger and Hellesylt in about ten minutes.