Great Nunatak

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 2.2-mile long feature has a secondary summit, elevation 3,412 ft.[2] 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.

[3] While the name remains, its status as a nunatak is obsolete because glacier lobes that once barely touched, now no longer completely encircle this landform as the Columbia Glacier retreats, and tidewater of Columbia Bay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.

[5] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall.

The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for climbing or viewing.