Petermann Peak, (), also known as ''Petermann Fjeld'', ''Petermanns Topp'' and ''Petermann Point'' is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

King Christian X Land King Christian X Land (; ) is an area of northeastern Greenland. History This area was named after King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland (). At the time of the Three-year Expedition to East Greenland, it is reported that, when Lauge Koch w ...

, Northeast

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. Administratively it is part of the

Northeast Greenland National Park Northeast Greenland National Park (, ) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas consist mostly of sea). Established in 1974, the Northeast Greenland national park expanded to its p ...

zone. The area around Petermann Peak is uninhabited. This mountain is located in the high

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

zone, where

Polar climate The polar climate regions are characterized by a lack of warm summers but with varying winters. Every month a polar climate has an average temperature of less than . Regions with a polar climate cover more than 20% of the Earth's area. Most of ...

prevails. The

average annual temperature Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorol ...

in the area is −16 °C. The warmest month is June, when the average temperature rises to −2 °C, and the coldest is January, with −22 °C.

Geography

Petermann Peak rises to a height of on a

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 ...

located the northern side of the Nordenskiöld Glacier, in western Fraenkel Land in the inner

Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord (; ) is the northernmost fjord system in the NE Greenland National Park area, East Greenland. Geography The Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord has its mouth in the Foster Bay of the Greenland Sea, between Cape Mackenzie at th ...

. It has a magnificent appearance, dominating the surrounding landscape. The Gregory Glacier flows from its northeastern side into the ''Knækdalen'' valley. The Kalifbjerg (2667 m), Kerberus (c. 2500 m), Gog (c. 2600 m) and Magog (c. 2400 m) peaks are located to the north of Petermann Peak. Initially believed to be the highest peak in Greenland, this mountain is one of the most renowned summits in northeastern Greenland together with

Payer Peak Payer Peak, ( or ''Payers Fjeld'') is a mountain in King Christian X Land, Northeast Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone. The region around Payer Peak is uninhabited. This mountain is located in ...

located nearby. The Petermann Peak is marked as a peak in the

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) to support national se ...

Greenland Navigation charts and as a mountain in other sources.
Petermann Bjerg
'. In: Anthony K. Higgins: ''Exploration history and place names of northern East Greenland.'' (= ''Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin'' 21, 2010). Kopenhagen 2010,

Historical background

Petermann Peak was first seen in August 1870 by

Julius Payer Julius Johannes Ludovicus Ritter von Payer (2 September 1841 – 29 August 1915), ennobled Ritter von Payer in 1876, was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army, mountaineer, arctic explorer, cartographer, painter, and professor at the There ...

and

Ralph Copeland Ralph Copeland FRSE FRAS (3 September 1837 – 27 October 1905) was an English astronomer and the third Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Life Copeland was born at Moorside Farm, near Woodplumpton in Lancashire, England the son of Robert Cope ...

when they climbed

. It was named ''Petermanns Spitze'' by

Carl Koldewey Carl Christian Koldewey (26 October 1837 – 17 May 1908) was a German Arctic explorer. He led both German North Polar Expeditions. Life and career Koldewey was the son of merchant Johann Christian Koldewey and his wife Wilhelmine Meyer. Koldew ...

during the Second

German North Polar Expedition The German North Polar Expeditions were a short series of mid-19th century German expeditions to the Arctic. The aim was to explore the North Pole region and to brand the newly united, Prussian-led German Empire as a great power. In 1866, German g ...

he led while first surveying and partially exploring Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord in 1869–70. The peak was named after

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

geographer

August Heinrich Petermann Augustus Heinrich Petermann (18 April 182225 September 1878) was a German cartographer. Early years Petermann was born in Bleicherode, Germany. When he was 14 years old, he started grammar school in the nearby town of Nordhausen. Despite fa ...

(1822–78) who was a great supporter of the expedition. In 1899 A.G. Nathorst mistook a lower peak in the vicinity, now named Nathorst Tinde, for Petermann Bjerg. At the turn of the century Petermann Peak was assumed to be the highest peak in all Greenland. The first ascent of the peak was made on 15 August 1929 by the Cambridge Expedition to East Greenland led by Scottish polar explorer

James Wordie Sir James Mann Wordie CBE FRS FRSGS LLD (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. Friends knew him as Jock Wordie. He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954. Early life an ...

(1890–1962). the second ascent by John Haller and Wolfgang Diehl on 9 August 1951.Odell, N.E. 1943:'' Aspects of mountaineering in the high Arctic.''

Alpine Journal The ''Alpine Journal'' (''AJ'') is an annual publication by the Alpine Club of London. It is the oldest mountaineering journal in the world. History The journal was first published on 2 March 1863 by the publishing house of Longman in London, ...

54, 182–190.

References

External links

AAJ - North America, Greenland, Petermann PeakPeakery - Greenland mountains and peaksGeological Magazine - A Contribution to the Geology of the Country between Petermann Peak and Kjerulf Fjord, East Greenland
{{NA isolated Petermann Petermann

Geography

Historical background

See also

References

External links