The northernmost point of land on Earth is a contentious issue due to variation of definition. How permanent some of the contenders are makes hard determination difficult, but sets an important threshold. Problematic issues include ice sheets, water movements and inundation, storm activity that may build, shift, or destroy banks of moraine material, and observational difficulties due to remoteness. However, a bathymetric survey in 2022 confirmed that certain previous contenders, such as 83-42, Qeqertaq Avannarleq, and ATOW1996 are not permanent islands/landmasses, as they are not connected to the seabed, and are only gravel banks floating on an ice sheet.
The following table sets out the main contenders (or previous contenders) for this title.
