A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1467 entries
piteraq
A katabatic wind that pours off the Greenland ice sheet and down the coastal mountains, reaching speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. One of the most powerful winds on earth. It occurs when cold, dense air pooled on the ice cap spills over the edge and accelerates downslope.
Etymology
Greenlandic Inuit, meaning “that which attacks you.”