< 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

NUNATAK, a name applied in Greenland (and thence extended in use elsewhere) to a hill or mountain peak appearing above the surface of a glacier. Greenland is for the most part covered by an ice-cap of a certain thickness which moves slowly downwards to the sea. It will rise upwards and pass over a barrier if there is no outlet, but it will flow between and around mountain peaks leaving them standing as hills (nunataks) above the general surface of the ice-cap. These prominences are sometimes covered with arctic vegetation, and arctic flowers bloom freely upon them in the summer.


This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.