Nunatak

Cântaro Magro, Serra da Estrela, Portugal, formed as a nunatak during the last ice age and now exposed.[1]

A nunatak (from Inuit nunataq) 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 are also called glacial islands.[2] Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. When rounded by glacial action, smaller rock promontories may be referred to as rognons.[3][4]

The word is of Greenlandic origin[5] and has been used in English since the 1870s.

  1. ^ Vieira, G.T.; Ferreira, A.B. (1998). "General characteristics of the glacial geomorphology of the Serra da Estrela" (PDF). In G.T. Vieira (ed.). Glacial and Periglacial Geomorphology of the Serra da Estrela. Guidebook for the field-trip IGU Commission on Climate Change and Periglacial Environments, 26–28 August 1998. pp. 37–48. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  2. ^ Physical Geography: Hydrosphere, 2006, ISBN 8183561675, p. 114
  3. ^ Neuendorf, Klaus K. E.; Institute, American Geological (2005). Glossary of Geology. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9780922152766.
  4. ^ "Rognon definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  5. ^ "Merriam-Webster: nunatak". Retrieved October 16, 2011.

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