What Is Aréte?

The word arête is from the French language meaning 'fishbone'. An arête is a very thin, sharp ridge.
It is formed when parallel valleys (U-shaped) are eroded by two glaciers. Thus, the two valleys erode and only a thin piece of land is left between the two that separates them. This piece of land, or ridge, is known as an arête.
A certain type of arête is the cleaver. It is named such because it quite resembles a meat cleaver. It separates a mass of glacier into two glaciers that flow parallel to and around the ridge.
Some of the famous arêtes around the world are:

• Clouds Rest and The Minarets, Sierra Nevada (California)
• The Garden Wall, Glacier National Park (Montana)
• Crib Goch, Snowdonia National Park (Wales)
• The Catwalk, Olympic National Park (Washington)
• Knife Edge, Mount Katahdin (Maine)