Member-only story
Earth Sculptures #6
Situated in the Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island Canada, Mount Thor or its official name of Thor’s Peak, stands at 4101 ft. It is the world’s greatest vertical drop at 15 degrees over vertical.
A popular hiking and climbing destination, it is said it took thirty attempts before the summit was finally realized back in 1965.
Thor’s Peak looms over the Weasel River valley and like the best Earth sculptures reduces its viewers into insignificance due to its dominance over the landscape.
Baffin Island itself, is the world’s fifth largest island.
From certain vantage points Mount Thor might be mistaken for Half-Dome in the Yosemite Valley, California. Like Half-Dome it is made of granite and sits as a masthead in a spectacular valley. And both monuments are rather easily accessible from their rear approach.
But the major difference between the two is owed to geographical location. Mt Thor sits very close to the freeze of the Arctic Circle while Half Dome occupies a much warmer Mediterranean climate.
