Wordie Glacier, Glacier in Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland
Wordie Glacier is a glacier in Northeast Greenland National Park that runs about 80 km northwest to southeast, from Stenoland toward Payer Land. Its terminus lies in Wordie Bay at the head of Godthab Gulf, north of the Norlund Alps. Tributaries include the Vibeke and Iris glaciers to the west and the Granta Glacier, which drains into Granta Fjord to the east.
The glacier was named in 1926 after Scottish polar explorer James Wordie, who participated in Arctic research expeditions. This naming recognized his contributions to understanding these remote polar regions during the early era of Arctic exploration.
The glacier carries the name of James Wordie, the Scottish polar explorer who took part in Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition and later became a Cambridge geographer. The 1926–27 expedition led by Lauge Koch gave the ice stream his name, so the toponym itself records a link between Greenland mapping and early twentieth-century British polar science.
Visitors need specialized Arctic equipment and must plan carefully, as the glacier sits in one of the world's most remote locations. Travel here is demanding and requires experienced guides familiar with the extreme conditions of this polar environment.
Two named nunataks break the ice of Wordie Glacier: Faraway How and C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak. The glacier also has several branches, among them the Vibeke and the smaller Iris Glacier to the west and the Granta Glacier, which drains into Granta Fjord to the east.
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