description Cape York Overview
Cape York is a group of chemically related IIIAB iron meteorite masses found in northwestern Greenland and derived from a prehistoric fall. Greenlandic Inuit communities worked meteoritic iron from masses known as the Woman, the Dog, and the Tent into tools and weapons before sustained access to European metal. The largest recovered mass, Ahnighito, weighs about 31 metric tonnes and has been displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York since its removal from Greenland in the 1890s.
insights Ranking position
Cape York ranks #1 of 213 in the Meteorite ranking, ahead of Allende.
help Cape York FAQ
How did Greenland's Inuit use the Cape York meteorites?
Inuit communities cold-hammered pieces of meteoritic iron into cutting edges and tools long before European access to industrial metal. The meteorites therefore served as an important local source of workable iron.
What is Ahnighito, the largest Cape York fragment?
Ahnighito is the largest known fragment of the Cape York meteorite group and weighs about 31 tonnes. Robert Peary transported it from Greenland in the 1890s, and it is now displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Is Cape York one meteorite or several separate pieces?
Cape York is the collective name for multiple iron masses from the same prehistoric fall. Named fragments include Ahnighito, the Woman, the Dog, Savik, and Agpalilik.
How was the massive Ahnighito meteorite transported?
Robert Peary's expedition used heavy equipment and a specially prepared route to move the roughly 31-tonne mass to a ship. Its removal was a major engineering operation rather than an ordinary specimen recovery.
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