Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the
highest mountain in
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 ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, and north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
. It is 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 ...
, a rocky peak protruding through
glacial
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 ...
ice. Gunnbjørn Fjeld is ranked 9th by
topographic isolation
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum geographical distance, horizontal distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and is ...
.
Geography
Gunnbjørn Fjeld is located in the
Watkins Range, an area of
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 ...
s on the east coast, which contains several other summits above 3,500 metres.
Its height is often given as , although figures vary slightly.
This is higher than
Snæfellsjökull, 530.2 kilometers away on the west coast of
Snæfellsnes on
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
.
Normal straight light rays do not allow one to simultaneously see Gunnbjørn Fjeld and Snæfellsjökull. However, arctic mirages allow seeing long distances by refracting (bending) the light. This effect is caused by a thermal density gradient in the atmosphere. It has been suggested that mutual visibility may exist under
hillingar effect or ''Arctic mirage'' conditions.
[https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~lehn/_Papers_for_Download/lehn-PF79.pdf ]
History
Gunnbjørn Fjeld was first climbed on 16 August 1935 by
Augustine Courtauld,
Jack Longland,
Ebbe Munck and
Lawrence Wager. It is named after
Gunnbjörn Ulfsson, the first European to have sighted Greenland.
The peak rises in an uninhabited part of the eastern coast of Greenland. The mountain is climbed infrequently due to its remote location. Access is often done with helicopter or ski-equipped plane (normally from Iceland).
See also
*
Mont Forel, formerly assumed to be the highest point of Greenland
*
List of mountain peaks of Greenland
*
List of mountains in Greenland
References
External links
2004 trip report
Mountains of Greenland
Nunataks of Greenland
{{Highest points of North America