John Nunatak () is an isolated granite

nunatak A nunatak (from Inuit language, Inuit ) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural pyramidal peaks. Isolated nunataks are also cal ...

in Antarctica, lying north of the

Pirrit Hills Pirrit Hills () is an isolated group of rocky peaks and nunataks about 7 nautical miles (13 km) in extent, lying southward of the Ellsworth Mountains, between the Heritage Range and Nash Hills. The feature was positioned by the U.S. Ellswor ...

. The nunatak was examined by

United States Antarctic Research Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has a presence in the ...

geologists

Edward Thiel Edward C. Thiel (May 4, 1928 – November 9, 1961), was a geologist from the University of Wisconsin and chief seismologist at Ellsworth Station Antarctica, from 1956 to 1958. He was leader of the traverse party that discovered the Thiel Trough subm ...

and Campbell Craddock on 13 December 1959, in the course of an airlifted geophysical traverse along the 88th meridian West. It was named by the

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

after steelworker Orlan F. John,

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, who lost his life in a construction accident at

McMurdo Sound The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...

, 2 November 1960.

References

Nunataks of Ellsworth Land {{EllsworthLand-geo-stub