A nunatak (from

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They often form natural

pyramidal peak A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples o ...

s. Isolated nunataks are also called glacial islands, and smaller nunataks rounded by glacial action may be referred to as rognons. The word is of Greenlandic origin and has been used in English since the 1870s.

Description

The term ''nunatak'' is typically used in areas where a permanent

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacier, glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice s ...

is present and the ridge protrudes above the sheet.J. J. Zeeberg, ''Climate and Glacial History of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian Arctic''. pp. 82–84 Nunataks present readily identifiable landmark reference points in glaciers or ice caps and are often named. While some are isolated, they can also form dense clusters, such as Queen Louise Land in Greenland. Nunataks are generally angular and jagged, hampering the formation of glacial ice on their tops, although snow can accumulate on them. This can contrast strongly with the softer contours of the glacially eroded land after a glacier retreats. They are not greatly affected by

frost weathering Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes, such as frost shattering, frost w ...

, given the low frequency of freeze-thaw cycles in areas of ice caps and ice sheets. Typically nunataks are the only places where plant life can survive on ice sheets or ice caps. Lifeforms on nunataks are often isolated by the surrounding ice or glacier, providing unique habitats.ice cap – National Geographic Society
/ref>

List

* Aitken Nunatak * Åkerlundh Nunatak *

Allan Hills The Allan Hills () are a group of hills, mainly ice free and about long, lying just north-west of the Coombs Hills near the heads of Mawson Glacier and Mackay Glacier in the Oates Land and Victoria Land regions of Antarctica. Exploration and n ...

aka Allan Nunatak * All-Blacks Nunataks * Altsek Nunatak * Anderson Nunataks * Anoritooq * Appalachia Nunataks *

Arena Corner Arena Corner () is an arcuate (curved) nunatak at the north end of the Traverse Mountains, east of McHugo Peak, on the Rymill Coast, Palmer Land. It was named in 1977 by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee The UK Antarctic Place-Names Comm ...

* Arkhangel'skiy Nunataks * Arrowhead Nunatak * Atanasoff Nunatak *

Aviator Nunatak Liv Glacier () is a steep valley glacier, long, emerging from the Antarctic Plateau just southeast of Barnum Peak and draining north through the Queen Maud Mountains to enter Ross Ice Shelf between Mayer Crags and Duncan Mountains. It was dis ...

Belknap Nunatak Thurston Island () is a largely ice-covered, glacially dissected island, long and wide, lying between Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea a short way off the northwest end of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica. The island is separated from the main ...

Berg Mountains The Lazarev Mountains () are a chain of mountains in Antarctica. They extend along the west side of Matusevich Glacier southward of Eld Peak, and are about long. Discovery and naming The Lazarev Mountains were photographed from the air by Un ...

Bering Nunatak The Sky-Hi Nunataks are a nunatak group long, located east of Grossman Nunataks and northeast of Merrick Mountains in Ellsworth Land, extending from Doppler Nunatak in the west to Arnoldy Nunatak in the east and including Mount Mende, Mount ...

Bon Docteur Nunatak Bon Docteur Nunatak, also known as Good Doctor Nunatak, is a small coastal nunatak, high, standing at the west side of the Astrolabe Glacier Tongue, south of Rostand Island in the Géologie Archipelago of Antarctica. It was photographed from t ...

Bradley Nunatak Bradley Nunatak () is a prominent nunatak standing southwest of Mount Tidd in the Pirrit Hills, Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of , it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It ...

Branson Nunatak The South Masson Range () is the southernmost of the three parts into which the Masson Range of the Framnes Mountains, Antarctica is divided. It rises to and extends in a northeast-southwest arc. Physical The South Masson Range has quite a dif ...

Brusilov Nunataks The Brusilov Nunataks () are a group of nunataks lying north of Mount Morrison in the Tula Mountains, Enderby Land Enderby Land is a projecting landmass of Antarctica. Its shore extends from Shinnan Glacier at about to William Scoresby Bay a ...

Butcher Nunatak The Guest Peninsula () is a snow-covered peninsula about long between the Sulzberger Ice Shelf and Block Bay, in the northwest part of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Location The Guest Peninsula extends westward into the Pacific Ocean from ...

Cabrera Nunatak Cabrera Nunatak () is a nunatak northeast of Putzke Peak in the McCuddin Mountains, Marie Byrd Land. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and from U.S. Navy air photos, 1959–65, and named by the Advisory Committe ...

* Calfee Nunatak * Cameron Nunataks *

Canisp Canisp (Scottish Gaelic: ''Canasp'') is a mountain in the far north west of Scotland. It is situated in the parish of Assynt, in the county of Sutherland, north of the town of Ullapool. Canisp reaches a height of and qualifies as a Corbett a ...

, formed as a Nunatak * Carapace Nunatak * Cassandra Nunatak * Castillo Nunatak * Castor Nunatak * Cat Nunatak * Catenary Nunatak * Cathedral Peak * C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak * Chain Nunataks * Cheeks Nunatak * Chocolate Nunatak * Clem Nunatak * Cone Nunatak * Copper Nunataks * Cowie Nunatak * Crash Nunatak * Crosby Nunataks * Daniels Hill * Dean Nunataks * Dee Nunatak * Director Nunatak * Dodd Nunatak * Dome Nunatak * Dotten Nunatak * Dow Nunatak * Downs Nunatak * Drury Nunatak * Du Toit Nunataks * Dziura Nunatak * Eaton Nunatak * Eckins Nunatak * Else Nunataks * Erehwon Nunatak * Erven Nunataks * Esther Nunatak * Everett Nunatak * Exile Nunatak *'' Exiles Nunataks'' * Fallone Nunataks * Faraway How * Farquharson Nunatak * Ferguson Nunataks * Fiebelman Nunatak * Filson Nunatak * Fin Nunatak * Florence Nunatak * Foltz Nunatak * Fomalhaut Nunatak * Footscrew Nunatak * Fraser Nunatak * Friedmann Nunataks * Galkin Nunatak * Gallen Nunatak * Gardner Nunatak * Gillett Nunataks * George Nunatak * Gomez Nunatak * Goodwin Nunataks * Gootee Nunatak * Gora Severny Nunatak * Gordon Nunataks * Gould Nunataks * Gratton Nunatak * Grayson Nunatak * Gromov Nunataks * Gronau Nunataks * Grossman Nunataks * Guardian Nunatak * Haigh Nunatak * Half Century Nunatak * Half Dome Nunatak * Halfway Nunatak * Hamner Nunatak *

Harter Nunatak Harter Nunatak () is a small, relatively isolated nunatak lying northeast of Mount Tidd at the northeast side of the Pirrit Hills in Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy aerial photographs, ...

* Harvey Nunataks * Haupt Nunatak * Henry Nunataks * Herrmann Nunatak * Heuser Nunatak * Heverley Nunataks * Holt Nunatak * Hopalong Nunatak * Horne Nunataks * House Nunatak * Hutchins Nunataks * Jaques Nunatak *

Jane Peak Jane Peak is a conspicuous nunatak, high, standing west of the northern part of Borge Bay on Signy Island, in the South Orkney Islands. It was roughly surveyed in 1933 by Discovery Investigations personnel, and resurveyed in 1947 by the Falkla ...

* Jarina Nunatak * John Nunatak * Johnson Nunataks * Jorgensen Nunataks * Jutulsessen * Kalafut Nunatak * Kamenev Nunatak * Kenfield Nunatak * Kinter Nunatak * Kjuklingen Nunatak * Klawatti Peak * Klinck Nunatak * Knight Nunatak * Koehler Nunatak * Komatsu Nunatak * Kozlov Nunataks * Krasin Nunataks * Krasnaya Nunatak * Krigsvold Nunataks * Kyle Nunataks * Lacroix Nunatak * Lands End Nunataks * Lang Nunatak * Laputa Nunataks * Last Cache Nunatak * Lawson Nunatak * Lawson Nunataks * Leach Nunatak * Lee Nunatak * Lepley Nunatak * Lewisohn Nunatak * Lilliput Nunataks *

Lodalskåpa Lodalskåpa is the highest nunatak on the Norwegian glacier Jostedalsbreen. It is located on the border between the municipalities of Stryn and Luster, Norway, Luster in Vestland county, Norway, within Jostedalsbreen National Park. The tall Lo ...

* Lonely One Nunatak * Lonewolf Nunataks * Longs Nunatak * López Nunatak * Luck Nunatak * Luff Nunatak * Luhrsen Nunatak * McCarthy Nunatak * McDaniel Nunatak * MacDonald Nunataks * McGrath Nunatak * McNair Nunatak * Maish Nunatak * Marcoux Nunatak * Marshall Nunatak * Martin Nunataks * Mathis Nunataks *'' Marujupu Peak'' * Meade Nunatak * Meyers Nunatak * Miller Nunatak * Miller Nunataks * Milles Nunatak * Mirfak Nunatak * Mizar Nunataks * Moody Nunatak * Moltke Nunataks * Moreland Nunatak * Morgan Nunataks * Morse Nunataks * Mulgrew Nunatak * Musson Nunatak * Neptune Nunataks * Névé Nunatak * Newman Nunataks * Nødtvedt Nunataks * Noble Nunatak * Nodule Nunatak * Nunatakassak * Nunatarsuaq * Nunatarsuaq (Tasiusaq Bay) * Olander Nunatak * Olson Nunatak * Omega Nunatak * Organpipe Nunatak * Orsugissap Qaqqarsua * Outrider Nunatak * Packsaddle Island * Papanin Nunataks * Pawley Nunataks * Pollux Nunatak * Potter Nunataks * Price Nunatak * Queen Louise Land * Quest Nunatak * Quilty Nunataks * R4D Nunatak * Ranney Nunatak * Rebholz Nunatak * Recess Nunatak * Rescue Nunatak * Reynolds Nunatak * Ringed Nunatak * Robertson Nunatak * Rutland Nunatak * Sage Nunataks * Salient Nunatak * Sanders Nunatak * Savin Nunatak * Sawyer Nunatak * Scheimpflug Nunatak * Schloredt Nunatak * Schoofs Nunatak * Seacatch Nunataks * See Nunatak * Sevier Nunatak * Shelton Nunataks *'' Ship Nunatak'' * Shoemake Nunatak * Singleton Nunatak * Slusher Nunatak * Småhausane Nunataks * Smørstabben Nunatak * Solitary Nunatak * Sonntag Nunatak * Spectator Nunatak *

Stac Pollaidh Stac Pollaidh () is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The peak displays a rocky crest of Torridonian sandstone, with many pinnacles and steep gully, gullies. The ridge was exposed to weathering as a nunatak above the ice sheet ...

, formed as a Nunatak * Stanford Nunatak * Starr Nunatak *

Static Nunatak The Quartermain Mountains ( ) are a group of exposed mountains in Antarctica, about long, typical of ice-free features of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land. They are east of the Lashly Mountains, south of the Asgard Range, west of the Kukri ...

* Stewart Hills * Stinear Nunataks * Striated Nunatak * Suilven, formed as a Nunatak * Svarthamaren Mountain * Swarsen Nunatak * Swartz Nunataks * Symes Nunatak * Syningen Nunatak * Table Nunatak * Taurus Nunataks * Teltet Nunatak * Temnikow Nunataks * Tern Nunatak * Tester Nunatak * Themis Nunatak * Threshold Nunatak * Tomandl Nunatak * Tommeliten Rock * Tomovick Nunatak * Toth Nunataks * Trillingane Nunataks * Trioen Nunataks * Trubyatchinskiy Nunatak * Tuning Nunatak * Turret Nunatak * Tuttulikassak * Twin Nunataks * Utsteinen Nunatak * Varney Nunatak * Velchev Rock * Vesleskarvet * Velie Nunatak * Vesthaugen Nunatak * Vorta Nunatak * Vulcan Nunatak * Walker Nunatak * Wallis Nunataks * Walsh Nunatak *

Wandel Land Wandel Land is a nunatak () in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of several nunataks in the Melville Bay region of Greenland, where the Greenland ice sheet () drains into the bay alongside its entire length apart from a ...

* Ward Nunataks * Watkins Range * Weather Guesser Nunataks * Weikman Nunataks * Whichaway Nunataks * Whistler Nunatak * White Nunataks * Wilds Nunatak * Willan Nunatak * Williams Nunatak * Willows Nunatak * Windscoop Nunataks * Witte Nunataks * Wold Nunatak * Wyers Nunataks * Yingling Nunatak * Young Nunataks * Zohn Nunataks

References

External links

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Nunatak survival of the high Alpine plant Eritrichium nanum
{{Authority control Glaciology

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 ...

Description

List

See also

References

External links