This is a list of the extreme points of Europe: the geographical points that are higher or farther north, south, east or west than any other location in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Some of these positions are open to debate, as the definition of Europe is diverse.

Extremes of the European continent, including islands

*Northernmost point.

Cape Fligely Cape Fligely (; ''Mys Fligeli''), is located on the northern shores of Rudolf Island and Franz Josef Land in the Russian Federation, and is the northernmost point of Russia, Europe, and Eurasia as a whole. It is south from the North Pole. Histo ...

Rudolf Island Prince Rudolf Land, Crown Prince Rudolf Land, Prince Rudolf Island or Rudolf Island (russian: Остров Рудольфа) is the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia and is home to the northernmost point in Russia. Owing t ...

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

(81° 48′ 24″ N). Franz Josef Land is near the ill-defined border between

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

; if it is not considered a part of Europe, then the northernmost point is on the island of Rossøya, Svalbard,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

( 81°N). *Southernmost point. Cape Trypiti,

Gavdos Gavdos ( el, Γαύδος, ) is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was ...

Island,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

(34° 48′ 02″ N) is the least ambiguous southernmost point of Europe. However, there are other contenders, depending on definition. The island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

has cultural links with Europe and it is also part of European Union; Cyprus's southernmost point is the British base at Akrotiri (34°35′N). The Portuguese islands of Madeira are borderline between Europe and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

; their southernmost point is the

Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands.30,000), white-faced storm- ...

(30°8′43″N). La Restinga on the island of

El Hierro El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...

(27°45′N) in the Spanish Canary Islands is yet further south and could be considered politically, though not

physiographic Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, ...

ally as part of Europe. *Westernmost point. Monchique Islet,

Azores Islands ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(31° 16′ 30″ W) (If considered part of Europe, though it sits on the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacif ...

). If not, then the Capelinhos Volcano,

Faial Island Faial Island (), also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group (Portuguese: ''Grupo Central'') of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, may be considered the westernmost point of ...

(28° 50′ 00″ W), the westernmost point of the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

above sea level. *Easternmost point. Cape Flissingsky (69° 02′ E), Severny Island, Novaya Zemlya, Russia.

Mainland Europe

*Northernmost point. Cape Nordkinn (Kinnarodden),

(71°08′02″N 27°39′00″E) *Southernmost point. Punta de Tarifa,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(36° 00′ 15″ N) *Westernmost point. Cabo da Roca,

(9°29'56.44 W).

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, which is part of the European continental shelf and which was connected to the continent by land during the last glacial period, includes points that are further west than Cabo da Roca (see Extreme points of Ireland). *Easternmost point. The easternmost point is dependent upon the various definitions of Europe's eastern border. Utilizing the most common definition of Europe's eastern edge (the watershed divide of the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

), the easternmost point of the Ural watershed (and thus mainland Europe) lies on an unnamed 545 metre peak at as shown on various detailed maps such as the Soviet General Staff maps and as shown on Google Earth/Maps. This peak is 17 km northeast of an 875-metre peak named Gora Anoraga and 60 km southwest of Ostrov Lediyev (island) on Arctic waters south of the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

Elevation

*Highest point. The highest point is dependent upon the definition of Europe: **The

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

watershed divide is the most common definition for the European/Asian border. This places the highest point at Mount Elbrus, Russia (5,642 metres; 18,506 feet), which is 11 km onto the European side of the Caucasus watershed divide. **If the Caucasus mountains are excluded, the highest point is

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

, on the border between France and Italy (4,810 metres; 15,781 feet). *Lowest point (natural, with open sky).

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

shore, Russia (28 metres; 92 feet below sea level). *Lowest point (natural, under water). Calypso Deep, Ionian Sea, Greece (5,267 metres; 17,280 feet below sea level). *Lowest point (natural, underground). Dependent upon the definition of Europe: either Krubera Cave, Abkhazia, Georgia (2196 metres; 7205 feet below surface) (also the deepest cave in the world) or Lamprechtsofen, Austria (1,632 metres; 5,354 feet below surface). *Lowest point (artificial, with open sky).

Hambach surface mine The Tagebau Hambach is a large open-pit coal mine (german: Tagebau) in Niederzier and Elsdorf, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE and used for mining lignite. The mine is on the site of the ancient Hambach Forest, w ...

(

open-pit mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...

), Germany (293 metres; 961 feet below sea level). Also deepest of the world. *Lowest point (artificial, underground).

Kola Superdeep Borehole The Kola Superdeep Borehole (russian: Кольская сверхглубокая скважина, translit=Kol'skaya sverkhglubokaya skvazhina) SG-3 is the result of a scientific drilling project of the Soviet Union in the Pechengsky District ...

, Russia (12,262 metres; 40,230 feet below surface). Also the deepest artificial point on Earth.

Highest attainable by transportation

*Cable car (and lift) – Klein Matterhorn, Switzerland (3,883 metres; 12,736 feet) *Funicular – Mittelallalin, Switzerland (3,456 metres; 11,339 feet) *Train (dead end) –

Jungfraujoch The Jungfraujoch (German: lit. "maiden saddle") is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx ...

, Switzerland (3,454 metres; 11,330 feet) *Train (mountain pass) –

Bernina Pass The Bernina Pass (el. .) ( it, Passo del Bernina) is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley w ...

, Switzerland (2,253 metres; 7390 feet) *Restricted access paved road (dead end) – Veleta (Sierra Nevada), Spain (3,300 metres; 10,827 feet) *Paved road (dead end) –

Ötztal Glacier Road The Ötztal Glacier Road, (german: Ötztaler Gletscherstraße), at 2,830 m (9,285 ft), is the second highest paved road in Europe. It is the access road from Sölden to the Rettenbach glacier and Tiefenbachferner glacier in the Ötztal Alps. It ...

, Austria (2,830 metres; 9,285 feet) *Paved road (mountain pass) –

Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Route ...

, France (2,770 metres; 9,090 feet) *See also:

List of highest paved roads in Europe This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are over long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to the t ...

and List of highest railways in Europe

Lowest attainable by transportation

*Lowest public tunnel – Ryfast Tunnel, Norway ( below sea level)

Notes

References

External links

Franz-Joseph-Land, the northernmost islands

picture of the westernmost point of Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extreme Points Of Europe Geography of Europe