Cape Morris Jesup ( da, Kap Morris Jesup) is a headland in

Peary Land Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the north ...

, Greenland.

Geography

Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland

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 is t ...

. It is from the

geographic North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Magn ...

. It is located in Johannes V. Jensen Land, about east of the mouth of

Sands Fjord Sands Fjord is a fjord in Peary Land, northern Greenland. To the north, the fjord opens into the Lincoln Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. The fjord was named by Robert Peary in honor ...

and west of

Constable Bay Constable Bay ( da, Constable Bugt) is a bay in the Wandel Sea, Northern Greenland. Administratively Constable Bay and its surroundings belong to the Northeast Greenland National Park. Constable Bay is the northernmost bay in the world. The area ...

. The cape marks the limit between the

Lincoln Sea Lincoln Sea (french: Mer de Lincoln; da, Lincolnhavet) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle line ...

to the west and the

Wandel Sea The Wandel Sea ( da, Wandelhavet; also known as McKinley Sea) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from northeast of Greenland to Svalbard. It is obstructed by ice most of the year. This sea is named after Danish polar explorer an ...

to the east. About southeast of the cape there is a river forming a small delta that flows from the

Mary Peary Peaks The Mary Peary Peaks ( da, Mary Peary Tinder) are a mountain in the Roosevelt Range, Peary Land, Northern Greenland. Administratively they belong to the Northeast Greenland National Park. The peaks were named by Robert Peary after his mother, ...

, part of the

Roosevelt Range The Roosevelt Range or Roosevelt Mountains ( da, Roosevelt Fjelde) is a mountain range in Northern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. Its highest peak is the highest point in Peary Land. Locat ...

to the south.

History

Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for, in Apri ...

reached the cape on 13 May 1900, believing it to be the northernmost point of land in the world, although it was later found to lie slightly to the south of the northernmost tip of

Kaffeklubben Island Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island ( da, Kaffeklubben Ø; kl, Inuit Qeqertaat) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern tip of Greenland. It contains the northernmost undisputed point of land on Earth. Discovery The first rec ...

. The cape is named after American philanthropist

Morris Ketchum Jesup Morris Ketchum Jesup (June 21, 1830 – January 22, 1908), was an American banker and philanthropist. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History and was known as a leading patron of scientific research and an eminent art ...

, president of the

Peary Arctic Club The Peary Arctic Club was an American-based club with the goal of promoting the Arctic expeditions of Robert Peary (1856–1920). This association of influential persons was able to overcome the opposition of the U.S. Navy Department to grant th ...

, who helped finance Peary's expeditions.

Plants

Specimens of Arctic Poppy and

Purple Saxifrage ''Saxifraga oppositifolia'', the purple saxifrage or purple mountain saxifrage, is a species of plant that is very common in the high Arctic and also some high mountainous areas further south, including northern Britain, the Alps and the Rocky ...

have been found growing in the thin, rocky soil. Cape Morris Jesup is practically a

polar desert Polar deserts are the regions of Earth that fall under an ice cap climate (''EF'' under the Köppen classification). Despite rainfall totals low enough to normally classify as a desert, polar deserts are distinguished from true deserts (' or ' un ...

with roughly 30-day summers. Despite these extremely inhospitable conditions, these two tiny flowering plants eek out a meager existence and persist blooming through summer lows in the high 20’s Fahrenheit.

References

Morris Jesup Peary Land {{Greenland-geo-stub

Geography

History

Plants

See also

References