Gendarme (mountaineering)

Pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge

For other uses, see Gendarme.

Thompson's Flake on Mount Kenya (centre of image on skyline) is a gendarme.

A gendarme is a pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge. They are typical of alpine areas. Gendarmes often form on the intersection of two ridges due to the lower erosion of glaciers here.^[1] The name originates from the French Alps, where they were seen as resembling the gendarmerie police. ^[2]^{[self-published source ]}

References

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^ Baker, B. H. (1967). Geology of the Mount Kenya area. Nairobi: Geological Survey of Kenya.
^ Randy Lippincott (2013). Three Days of the Condor or Fifty Shades of Dry. Trafford Publishing. p. 154.