Vessel seen surrounded by an American valley or mountain (9)
I believe the answer is:
annapurna
'mountain' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both natural objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'vessel seen surrounded by an american valley' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'vessel' could be 'urn' (urn is a kind of vessel) and 'urn' is found in the answer.
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is located in the answer.
'american' could be 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names) and 'a' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'or' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for annapurna that I've seen before include "Range" , "Himalayan peak; Hindu goddess of plenty" , "high ridge" .)