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Great Nunatak

Great Nunatak, seen from above at true elevation

Great Nunatak rises to 1,113 m in Alaska. Mount Gilbert Lewis stands 3,695 m to the north, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is Mount Thomas, a peak 10 miles away. Alaska's Marine Highway passes 11 miles off. 54 named places lie within 25 miles, 40 of them named summits.

The story

Great Nunatak is a 3,652-foot (1,113 m) elevation summit located 21 mi (34 km) west of Valdez in the Chugach Mountains of the U.S. state of Alaska. This remote mountain is situated near the terminus of the Columbia Glacier, 11 mi (18 km) southeast of Columbia Peak, on land managed by Chugach National Forest. This 2.2-mile long feature has a secondary summit, elevation 3,412 ft. Great Nunatak traces its name to Grove Karl Gilbert, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey who was part of the 1899 Harriman Alaska expedition that explored this area. He believed it to be the largest nunatak in Alaska when he casually referred to it as "the great nunatak" in a 1902 publication. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1975 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. While the name remains, its status as a nunatak is obsolete because glacier lobes that once barely touched, now no longer completely encircle this landform as the Columbia Glacier retreats, and tidewater of Columbia Bay replaces the ice on the north and west aspects of the mountain.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q49033378, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
1113 m

How to reach it

Coordinates61.10784, -147.01527

54 named places within 25 miles

Peaks: 40
  • Mount Thomas: 10.0 mi
  • Mount Defiant: 10.8 mi
  • Round Mountain: 11.2 mi
  • Columbia Peak: 11.2 mi
  • Mount Freemantle: 11.3 mi
Attractions: 5
  • Lighthouse with Sea Lion: 12.2 mi
  • Valdez, Alaska Arch: 22.4 mi
  • Dock Point Trail: 22.6 mi
  • Dock Point Trail: 22.9 mi
  • Solomon Gulch Hatchery Visitor Self Guided Tour: 23.8 mi
Parks: 4
  • Ruth Pond Park: 21.9 mi
  • Meyring Park South: 22.1 mi
  • Meyring Park North: 22.1 mi
  • Dock Point: 23.1 mi
Artworks: 2
  • Valdez - The All-American Route: 22.0 mi
  • Whispering Giant, by Peter Toth: 22.2 mi
Museums: 2
Historic sites: 1
  • American Legion Post 2 - Veterans Memorial Park: 22.0 mi

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Great Nunatak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Mount Gilbert LewisN 349°3,695 m24.1 mi
Mount ValhallaN 355°3,668 m24.4 mi
Mount WitherspoonNNW 343°3,632 m20.8 mi
Mount EdisonNNW 344°3,557 m21.4 mi
Mount EinsteinN 351°3,503 m17.4 mi
Mount CardozoNNW 339°3,313 m18.4 mi
Mount FafnirN 358°3,214 m23.1 mi
Blackcliff MountainN 355°3,127 m19.3 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:5019:0620:03
June solstice04:1122:0423:30
September equinox07:3318:5319:50
December solstice10:0215:32

Local time (America/Anchorage).

Climate normals

Months averaging 5080 °F: Jun–Aug.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F242729374452555448393027
Precip in10.29.76.86.37.05.67.113.817.214.911.212.1

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Cannery Creek, 18 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/7557066899

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