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Highest Mountains in Greenland

Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the highest of the 4 mountains recorded for Greenland, at 3,694 m, ahead of Mount Forel at 3,360 m. The full list follows.

How this list is built: Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. It covers the mountains indexed in YearMaps, drawn from open geospatial data, and is not an exhaustive national register.

Mountains Listed
4
Top Ranked
3,694 m
Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Second
3,360 m
Mount Forel
Profiled Below
2
Photo, encyclopedia text and figures
Highest Mountains in Greenland
#NameElevation
1Gunnbjørn Fjeld3,694 m
2Mount Forel3,360 m
3Summit Station3,238 m
4Perserajoq2,259 m

The Mountains of Greenland in Detail

The 2 mountains above that have an encyclopedia article, in the same order, each with its photograph, figures and the places around it.

Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Gunnbjørn Fjeld

Mountain · 3,694 m

Gunnbjørn Fjeld is a mountain rising to 3,694 metres (12,119 ft) in Greenland, in the North America region.

Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the highest mountain in Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle, and the highest point in North America not on the mainland. It is situated in the east of the territory. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice. Gunnbjørn Fjeld is ranked 9th by topographic isolation.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Gunnbjørn Fjeld (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Elevation
3,694 m (12,119 ft)
Global rank
#155 of 641 indexed
Region
North America (#30)
Subregion
Greenland
Country
Greenland
Coordinates
68.9195°, -29.8984°

Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Gunnbjørn Fjeld ranks #155 by elevation, below Cerro San Rafael (3,710 m) and above Loolmalasin (3,682 m).

Ranges:
Grampian Mountains (Europe), Cambrian Mountains (Europe)
Neighbouring summits:
Mount Forel (3,360 m), Beerenberg (2,277 m), Slaettaratindur (882 m)
Settlements below:
Reykjavík (635 km), Ålesund (1,770 km), Inverness (1,785 km)

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More about Gunnbjørn Fjeld

Geography

Gunnbjørn Fjeld is located in the Watkins Range, an area of nunataks on the east coast, which contains several other summits above 3,500 metres. Its height is often given as 3,700 metres (12,139 ft), although figures vary slightly.

This is higher than Snæfellsjökull, 530.2 kilometers away on the west coast of Snæfellsnes on Iceland.

Normal straight light rays do not allow one to simultaneously see Gunnbjørn Fjeld and Snæfellsjökull. However, arctic mirages allow seeing long distances by refracting (bending) the light. This effect is caused by a thermal density gradient in the atmosphere. It has been suggested that mutual visibility may exist under hillingar effect or Arctic mirage conditions.

History

Gunnbjørn Fjeld was first climbed on 16 August 1935 by Augustine Courtauld, Jack Longland, Ebbe Munck and Lawrence Wager. It is named after Gunnbjörn Ulfsson, the first European to have sighted Greenland.

The peak rises in an uninhabited part of the eastern coast of Greenland. The mountain is climbed infrequently due to its remote location. Access is often done with helicopter or ski-equipped plane (normally from Iceland).

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Gunnbjørn Fjeld (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Gunnbjørn Fjeld: Key Facts

Key facts about Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Topographic prominence3,694 m
Mountain rangeWatkins Range

Facts from Wikidata Q825709 (CC0).

Mount Forel
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Mount Forel

Mountain · 3,360 m

Mount Forel is a mountain rising to 3,360 metres (11,024 ft) in Greenland, in the North America region.

Mont Forel is a mountain in King Christian IX Land, Sermersooq Municipality, Greenland. It is part of the Schweizerland range, also known as 'Schweizerland Alps'.

This peak is located in a popular climbing destination, together with the Watkins Range to the northeast and the Stauning Alps further north.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Mont Forel (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Elevation
3,360 m (11,024 ft)
Global rank
#192 of 641 indexed
Region
North America (#40)
Subregion
Greenland
Country
Greenland
Coordinates
66.9350°, -36.8148°

Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Mount Forel ranks #192 by elevation, below Monte Fitz Roy (3,375 m) and above Cerro Mohinora (3,348 m).

Ranges:
Grampian Mountains (Europe), Cambrian Mountains (Europe)
Neighbouring summits:
Gunnbjørn Fjeld (3,694 m), Beerenberg (2,277 m), Mount Odin (2,143 m)
Settlements below:
Reykjavík (749 km), Inverness (1,956 km), Londonderry (2,038 km)

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More about Mount Forel

Geography

Mont Forel is the highest peak outside of the area of the Watkins Range, where the highest mountain, Gunnbjørn Fjeld, rises. It is located just north of the Arctic Circle in the Schweizerland Alps, north of Sermilik, near Ammassalik Island. Its elevation is 3,383 metres (11,099 ft) and there is an ice dome at the top of the mountain. The Crown Prince Frederick Range stretches northeastwards to the northeast of Mont Forel.

History

The mountain was named in 1912 by Swiss geophysicist and Arctic explorer Alfred de Quervain after his Greenland icecap crossing from Godhavn (Qeqertarsuaq) on the west, to Sermilik Fjord on the eastern side.

Mont Forel was first climbed by a Swiss expedition of the Akademischer Alpen-Club of Zürich led by André Roch in 1938.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mont Forel (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Mount Forel: Key Facts

Key facts about Mount Forel
Topographic prominence1,581 m
Mountain rangeSchweizerland

Facts from Wikidata Q947447 (CC0).

More on Greenland

Quick Answers

What is the highest mountain in Greenland?
Gunnbjørn Fjeld, at 3,694 m. Mount Forel is second at 3,360 m. Rankings cover the mountains indexed in YearMaps.
How many mountains are there in Greenland?
YearMaps lists 4 mountains for Greenland. This is the number mapped in the atlas, not an official national count.