nunatak

American  

[nuhn-uh-tak] / ˈnʌn əˌtæk /

noun

1. a hill or mountain that has been completely encircled by a glacier.

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nunatak British  

/ ˈnʌnəˌtæk /

noun

1. an isolated mountain peak projecting through the surface of surrounding glacial ice and supporting a distinct fauna and flora after recession of the ice

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Etymology

Origin of nunatak

1875–80; < Inuit (West Greenlandic) nunataq

Example Sentences

Gokul’s final word was nunatak, an Inuit word for the exposed, often rocky, portion of a mountain or peak not covered with ice or snow.

From Forbes • Jun. 3, 2015

Near faster ice streams, like Byrd Glacier, we found a rich assortment of igneous and metamorphic rocks, probably eroded from the upstream craton, even though the local nunatak geology exposes only Beacon and Ferrar.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2011

A nunatak sticking above the ice of the polar plateau.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2010

A nunatak on the edge of the polar plateau with a moraine of glacial sediment trailing down one side.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2010

When the light at last improved, a nunatak was observed some fifteen miles or more to the south rising out of the glacier—Correll Nunatak.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Mawson, Douglas, Sir