Boron nitride nanotubes are prepared by a process which includes: (a) creating a source of boron vapor; (b) mixing the boron vapor with nitrogen gas so that a mixture of boron vapor and nitrogen gas is present at a nucleation site, which is a surface, the nitrogen gas being provided at a pressure elevated above atmospheric, e.g., from greater than about 2 atmospheres up to about 250 atmospheres; and (c) harvesting boron nitride nanotubes, which are formed at the nucleation site.