ATOW1996 is one of the
northernmost documented points of land on Earth. It is a small
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...
about long and one metre high, located several miles north of
Cape Morris Jesup
Cape Morris Jesup ( da, Kap Morris Jesup) is a headland in Peary Land, Greenland.
Geography
Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland Greenland. It is from the geographic North Pole. It is located in Johannes V. Jensen Land, abo ...
in northern
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 ...
at . It was discovered by and named after the (
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
)
Top of the World Expedition of 1996.
A non-permanent island even farther north—at —was noted in a Twin Otter flyover by the 2001 Return to the Top of the World Expedition (RTOW2001). This expedition also confirmed the continuing existence of ATOW1996.
For years,
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 re ...
, discovered in 1921 by Danish explorer Lauge Koch at , was thought to be the northernmost point of land. In 1977, however, a Danish expedition discovered
Oodaaq Island further north at . The American Top of the World Expedition of 1996 was able to locate what they thought was Oodaaq Island, but doubts remain because of the inconsistency between the island they reached, "ATOW1996," and those recorded by the original discoverers of Oodaaq. The coordinates for ATOW1996 are actually further north than those for Oodaaq, so it currently holds the record for the most northerly point of land. An expedition was planned for 2003 to confirm this island's existence, and to clarify all other outstanding issues.
Another island, called
83-42, was found at . It is tiny, measuring about and high. Whether that islet is permanent has not yet been confirmed.
See also
*
Stjernebannertinde
Stjernebannertinde (Starry Banner Peak) is the highest mountain in the H. H. Benedict Range, a subrange of the Roosevelt Range, Northern Greenland.
The peak was first climbed in 1996 by the members of the American Top of the World Expedition ( ...
References
Xefer.com
Uninhabited islands of Greenland
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