#thor peak

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Mount Thor, officially called the Thor Peak, in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Source: youtube.com

[earthstory]

Vertical Thor: Earth’s Tallest Vertical Drop

Towering 1675 metres (≈5495 ft) above the base of the valley floor in the Auyuittuq National Park in Canada stands Mount Thor, respectively called Thor Peak. As part of the Baffin Mountains on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Mount Thor has the tallest vertical drop in the entire world, measuring in at around 1250 metres (≈4100 ft) with an average angle of 105̊. To put its magnificent height into perspective, the current tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands 828 metres (≈2716 ft) tall; Mount Thor is roughly twice its size from its base to its summit.

In one of the more remote areas of the world, the Baffin Mountains rise into the Arctic and makeup part of the Arctic Cordillera Mountain Range. Much of the Baffin Mountains, including Mount Thor, are made up of solid granite which date back from 570 million years old to 3.5 billion years old – some of our planet’s oldest known rocks. Over that extremely long period in earth’s history, the rocks and mountains have been metamorphosed several times and eventually the underlying granite broke through and remained as the final and visible rock layer.

Baffin Island actually used to be part of Greenland, before the Cumberland Peninsula was uplifted. Erosion and glaciation has given the mountain range and surrounding terrain its unique and distinctive appearance with sharp peaks and flattened valleys. Because of its remoteness, few people know of Mount Thor and the ancient history of the Baffin Mountains in Canada but that is not to downplay the impressive geology and ancient geological history of the area. A quick visit to the Baffin Mountains and one can bear witness to thousands of years of glaciation, some of the world’s oldest rocks, and earth’s tallest vertical drop.

--Pete D

Photo Credit: Clairissa Carter http://getoutradio.com/?tag=mount-asgard

References: 1. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nu/auyuittuq/natcul/natcul5.aspx 2. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/03/mount-thor-greatest-vertical-drop-on.html 3. http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/incredible-cliff-faces/10012?image=16 4. http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Thor

[jackieandstuff]

Views of Mount Thor Auyuittuq National Park, August 2015

[jackieandstuff]

Inuksuk and Mount Thor Auyuittuq National Park, August 2015

[jackieandstuff]

Mount Baldr and Mount Thor Auyuittuq National Park, August 2015