The Watkins Range ( da, Watkins Bjerge) is

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

's highest mountain range. It is located in

King Christian IX Land King Christian IX Land ( da, Kong Christian IX Land) is a coastal area of Southeastern Greenland in Sermersooq Municipality fronting the Denmark Strait and extending through the Arctic Circle from 65°N to 70°N. History This area was named i ...

Sermersooq Sermersooq (, da, sted med meget is, lit=place of much ice) is a municipality in Greenland, formed on 1 January 2009 from five earlier, smaller municipalities. Its administrative seat is the city of Nuuk (formerly called Godthåb), the capital ...

municipality. The range was named after British Arctic explorer

Gino Watkins Henry George "Gino" Watkins FRGS (29 January 1907 – c. 20 August 1932) was a British Arctic explorer and nephew of Bolton Eyres-Monsell, 1st Viscount Monsell. Biography Born in London, he was educated at Lancing College and acquired a lov ...

History

Made up entirely of nunataks,GEUS Map - Northern East Greenland; Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 21 Map 4 - 1:1 000 000
/ref> this remote range was formerly an unknown area. In 1912 Swiss geophysicist and Arctic explorer Alfred De Quervain crossed the

Greenland ice cap The Greenland ice sheet ( da, Grønlands indlandsis, kl, Sermersuaq) is a vast body of ice covering , roughly near 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is sometimes referred to as an ice cap, or under the term ''inland ice'', or its Danish equiv ...

from

Godhavn Qeqertarsuaq () is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen known as Arctic Station. ...

(Qeqertarsuaq) on the west, to

Sermilik Sermilik ( da, Egede og Rothes Fjord) is a fjord in eastern Greenland. It is part of the Sermersooq municipality. The settlement of Tasiilaq is located about 15 km to the east of the mouth of the fjord. Geography This fjord, whose Gre ...

Fjord on the eastern side and saw a range system that he named '

Schweizerland Schweizerland, also known as Schweizerland Alps, is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.Google Earth Its highest point is one of the highest peaks in G ...

', marking the position and approximate height of

Mont Forel Mont Forel is a mountain in King Christian IX Land, Sermersooq Municipality, Greenland. It is part of the Schweizerland range, also known as 'Schweizerland Alps'. This peak is located in a popular climbing destination, together with the Watkins ...

, the highest point of that area Lacking accurate data, Mont Forel was then thought to be the highest mountain in the Arctic Circle area, together with Petermann Peak far to the north.The Development of Mountaineering in East and North-East Greenland, An Outline History
/ref> However, in 1930 Gino Watkins, leader of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, discovered a new mountain range from the air located over 350 km to the northeast of Schweizerland that he named 'New Mountains'. This was the higher Watkins Range with the Gunnbjørnsfjeld, the actual highest summit in Greenland.Encyclopedia Arctica 14: Greenland
/ref> In 1935

Lawrence Wager Lawrence Rickard Wager, commonly known as Bill Wager, (5 February 1904 – 20 November 1965) was a British geologist, explorer and mountaineer, described as "one of the finest geological thinkers of his generation"Vincent and best remembered for ...

, who had been earlier with Watkins' 1930 expedition returned to East Greenland and opened a new route inland. During his venture he made the first ascent of the range's highest point, Gunnbjorns Fjeld. He was also able to sight as well the

Lemon Range The Lemon Range or Lemon Mountains ( da, Lemon Bjerge) is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality. History The range was named by Gino Watkins after Capta ...

, a hitherto unknown range located to the north-east of Kangerlugssuaq Fjord.

Geography

The Watkins Range is located in

about 60 km inland from the Blosseville Coast. It is a system of nunataks surrounded by large active glaciers. The main glaciers are the large Christian IV Glacier to the west, the

Rosenborg Glacier Rosenborg may refer to: Places Denmark * Rosenborg Castle, a castle in Copenhagen, Denmark Norway * Rosenborg, Trondheim, an area in the city of Trondheim, Norway * Rosenborg (station) of the Oslo Tramway * Rosenborg (old station) of the Oslo Tram ...

to the south and the

Kronborg Glacier Kronborg Glacier ( da, Kronborg Gletscher) is a glacier on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet. It is named after Kronborg Castle in Denmark. Administratively this glacier is part of the Sermersooq Municipality. Google Earth The area surrou ...

to the east. The range has massive ice-covered peaks and exposed cliffs. The primary summit of the range is

Gunnbjørn Fjeld Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the tallest mountain in Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and north of the Arctic Circle. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice. Geography Gunnbjørn Fjeld is located in the Watkins Range, an area o ...

, also the highest peak in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

. The Lindbergh Range rises to the west, beyond the Christian IV Glacier. Other high nunataks are located nearby, some being part of the greater Watkins Range system, such as the Skaermen ''(Skærmen)'' to the west, the Ejnar Mikkelsen Range— and the Borgtinderne to the east, and the Lilloise Range to the southeast. The

Gronau Nunataks The Gronau Nunataks ( da, Gronau Nunatakker) is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality. History This group of nunataks at the edge of the vast Greenland ...

are located to the north at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, separated from the Watkins Range by the Christian IV Glacier. 'Rasmussens Range' ''(Knud Rasmussens Bjerge)'', from Knud Rasmussen Land mountains, is the name used in some sources to refer to the northern section of the range located between the

69th parallel north The 69th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 69 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America, and passes through some of the southern seas of the Arctic ...

and the

.Arctic Summits - Summit Climbs
/ref> However, there is a mountain range located in West Greenland that is known by the name '' Knud Rasmussens Bjerge''.

Mountains

The Watkins Range has a number of mountains higher than , some of which are unnamed. Among these the following deserve mention: *

- * Gunnbjørn Dome - * Gunnbjørn Cone - * Peak - at , part of a group of high peaks north of Gunnbjørn Fjeld * Deception Dome - * Peak - at , part of a group of high peaks NE of Gunnbjørn Fjeld Google Earth * Istind - AAJ - North America, Greenland, Swiss East Greenland Expedition
/ref> * Ebeth - * Lille Snefjeld - File:Gröönimaa maastik.JPG, Southward bend in the Christian IV Glacier with the

in the background and the NW part of the Watkins Range on the right File:Operational Navigation Chart C-13, 3rd edition.jpg,

Defense Mapping Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of nationa ...

map of Greenland sheet

Climbing

The Watkins Range has excellent snow as well as ice routes for experienced climbers. Good climbing conditions are present for the most part in July and August.''Mountain Info. Greenland 2006'' Climb Magazine. January 2008 issue, p. 70

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

AAJ - 2011: Mt. Augustine Courtauld (ca 3,150m).Highlights and keywords from the Greenland 2004 expeditionGreenland 2004
Mountain ranges of Greenland Nunataks of Greenland Sermersooq