Currently, There are at least 108
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
s on Earth with
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
s of or greater above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...
. The vast majority of these mountains are located on the edge of the
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
and
Eurasian
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipela ...
plates in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
The dividing line between a mountain with multiple peaks and separate mountains is not always clear (see also
Highest unclimbed mountain). A popular and intuitive way to distinguish mountains from subsidiary peaks is by their height above the highest saddle connecting it to a higher summit, a measure called
topographic prominence or re-ascent (the higher summit is called the "parent peak"). A common definition of a mountain is a summit with prominence. Alternatively, a relative prominence (prominence/height) is used (usually 7–8%) to reflect that in higher mountain ranges everything is on a larger scale. The table below lists the highest 100 summits with at least prominence, approximating a 7% relative prominence. A drawback of a prominence-based list is that it may exclude well-known or spectacular mountains that are connected via a high ridge to a taller summit, such as
Eiger,
Nuptse or
Annapurna IV. A few such peaks and mountains with nearly sufficient prominence are included in this list, and given a rank of "S".
It is very unlikely that all given heights are correct to the nearest metre; indeed, the sea level is often problematic to define when a mountain is remote from the sea. Different sources often differ by many metres, and the heights given below may well differ from those elsewhere in this encyclopedia. As an extreme example,
Ulugh Muztagh
Ulugh Muztagh or Ulugh Muztag (Uighur: Ulug muz tag) () and Muztag Feng (), is an extremely remote mountain group on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Located on the border between the Tibetan Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomou ...
on the north
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...
is often listed as to , but appears to be only to . Some mountains differ by > on different maps, while even very thorough current measurements of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
range from to . These discrepancies serve to emphasize the uncertainties in the listed heights.
Though some parts of the world, especially the most mountainous parts, have never been thoroughly mapped, it is unlikely that any mountains this high have been overlooked, because
synthetic aperture radar can and
has been
''Has Been'' (2004) is William Shatner's second musical album after 1968's ''The Transformed Man''. The album was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and most of the songs are co-written by Folds and Shatner, with Folds creating arrangements for ...
used to measure elevations of most otherwise inaccessible places. Still, heights or prominences may be revised, so that the order of the list may change and even new mountains could enter the list over time. To be safe, the list has been extended to include all peaks.
The highest mountains above sea level are generally not the highest above the surrounding terrain. There is no precise definition of surrounding base, but
Denali
Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the ...
,
Mount Kilimanjaro and
Nanga Parbat are possible candidates for the tallest mountain on land by this measure. The bases of mountain islands are below sea level, and given this consideration
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak ...
( above sea level) is the
world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
's tallest mountain and
volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
, rising about from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
floor.
Mount Lamlam on
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
is periodically claimed to be among the world's highest mountains because it is adjacent to the
Mariana Trench; the most extreme claim is that, measured from
Challenger Deep away, Mount Lamlam is tall.
Ojos del Salado has the greatest rise on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
: vertically to the summit from the bottom of the
Atacama Trench
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...
, which is about away, although most of this rise is not part of the mountain.
The highest mountains are also not generally the most voluminous.
Mauna Loa () is the largest mountain on Earth in terms of base area (about ) and volume (about ), although, due to the intergrade of
lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
from
Kilauea,
Hualalai and
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak ...
, the volume can only be estimated based on surface area and height of the edifice.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the largest non-shield volcano in terms of both base area () and volume ().
Mount Logan is the largest non-volcanic mountain in base area ().
The highest mountains above sea level are also not those with peaks farthest from the centre of the Earth, because the
figure of the Earth
Figure of the Earth is a term of art in geodesy that refers to the size and shape used to model Earth. The size and shape it refers to depend on context, including the precision needed for the model. A sphere is a well-known historical approxim ...
is not spherical. Sea level closer to the equator is several kilometres farther from the centre of the Earth. The summit of
Chimborazo,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
's tallest mountain, is usually considered to be the farthest point from the Earth's centre, although the southern summit of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
's tallest mountain,
Huascarán, is another contender. Both have elevations above sea level more than less than that of Everest.
Geographical distribution
Almost all mountains in the list are located in the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
and
Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
ranges to the south and west of the Tibetan plateau. All peaks or higher are located in
East,
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
or
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
in a rectangle edged by
Noshaq
Noshaq (also called Noshak or Nowshak; is the second highest peak in the Hindu Kush Range after Tirich Mir at . It lies on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The north and west sides of the mountain are in Afghanistan whereas the south ...
() on the
Afghanistan–Pakistan border in the west,
Jengish Chokusu (Tuōmù'ěr Fēng, ) on the
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
–
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
border to the north,
Gongga Shan
Mount Gongga (), also known as Minya Konka (Khams Tibetan pinyin: ''Mi'nyâg Gong'ga Riwo'') and colloquially as "The King of Sichuan Mountains", is the highest mountain in Sichuan province, China. It has an elevation of above sea level. This m ...
(Minya Konka, ) in
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...
to the east, and
Kabru
Kabru is a mountain in the Himalayas on the border of eastern Nepal and India. It is part of a ridge that extends south from Kangchenjunga and is the southernmost peak in the world.
The main features of this ridge are as follows (north to sou ...
() on the
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...
–
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
border to the south.
, the highest peaks on four of the mountains —
Gangkhar Puensum,
Labuche Kang III,
Karjiang
Karjiang is a mountain in Tibet Autonomous Region, located near the Bhutan–Tibet border. The highest peak of the Karjiang group is Karjiang I or Karjiang South, with an elevation of ; it remains unclimbed. Other peaks include Karjiang North (719 ...
, and
Tongshanjiabu
Tongshanjiabu is a mountain in the Himalayas. At tall, Tongshanjiabu is the 103rd tallest mountain in the world. It sits in the disputed border territory between Bhutan and China. Tongshanjiabu has never been officially climbed.
The name "To ...
, all located in
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
or
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
— have not been ascended. The most recent peak to have its first ever ascent is
Saser Kangri II East, in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, on 24 August 2011.
The highest mountain
outside of Asia is
Aconcagua (), the 189th highest in the world.
List of world's highest peaks
Data plots
By country
The following graph ranks the countries by number of mountain peaks over 7,200 metres (23,622 ft) above sea level. Note that 38 peaks are on ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' borders and two (
Jongsong Peak and
Sia Kangri) are on
tripoints.
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fontsize:S pos:(20,10) text:Number of mountain peaks over 7,200m above sea level (status quo)
Stem and leaf plot
The following is a
stem and leaf plot of the above data. The two digits to the left of the line are the first two digits of the mountain's height (metres), and each digit to the right of the line represents the third digit of the mountain's height. Each number on the right is linked to the corresponding mountain's article. For example, the height of one of the mountains (namely Mount Everest) is . Also, it is apparent that there are five mountains above .
88 ,
4
87 ,
86 ,
1
85 ,
8 1
84 ,
8
83 ,
82 ,
81 ,
8 6 6 2
80 ,
9 8 5 3 2
79 ,
5 4 3 3
78 ,
9 8 7 6 2 2 1 0
77 ,
9 9 8 8 5 5 4 1 0 0
76 ,
9 7 6 6 4 1 1
75 ,
7 7 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 1 1
74 ,
9 9 9 9 7 6 6 6 5 5 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0
73 ,
8 8 8 8 8 6 6 5 5 5 4 2 1 1 1 0
72 ,
9 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gallery
eight-thousanders" mode="packed" widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Everest kalapatthar crop.jpg, 1. The summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
, the highest point on Earth
File:K2 2006b.jpg, 2. K2, the highest summit of the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
File:Kangch-Goechala.jpg, 3. Kangchenjunga, the second-highest mountain of the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:LhotseMountain.jos.500pix.jpg, 4. Lhotse
Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
, the third-highest mountain of the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:Makalu.jpg, 5. Makalu in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:ChoOyu-fromGokyo.jpg, 6. Cho Oyu in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:Dhaulagiri from ramrekha.jpg, 7. Dhaulagiri in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:Sunrise, Manaslu.jpg, 8. Manaslu in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:Nanga Parbat 029.jpg, 9. Nanga Parbat in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:Annapurna South Face.jpg, 10. Annapurna I in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
File:HiddenPeak.jpg, 11. Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I ( ur, ; ), surveyed as K5 and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located in Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. Gasherbrum I is part of the ...
, the second-highest mountain of the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
File:7 15 BroadPeak.jpg, 12. Broad Peak, the third-highest mountain of the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
File:Gasherbrum2.jpg, 13. Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II ( ur, ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan ...
in the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
File:Shishapangma.jpg, 14. Shishapangma in the Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
See also
*
List of elevation extremes by country
*
List of mountain peaks by prominence
*
List of mountain peaks of Uttarakhand
*
List of mountain ranges of the world
*
List of mountains by elevation
*
List of mountains on Mars by height
This is a list of mountains on Mars by elevation, the vertical position relative to the areoid, which is the Martian vertical datum (the surface defined as zero elevation by average martian atmospheric pressure and planet radius). Elevation is ''n ...
*
List of past presumed highest mountains
*
List of tallest mountains in the Solar System
This is a list of the tallest mountains in the Solar System. This list includes peaks on all celestial bodies where significant mountains have been detected. For some celestial bodies, different peaks are given across different types of measure ...
*
List of the highest major summits of North America
*
List of unclimbed mountains of Nepal
*
List of volcanoes by elevation
A list (incomplete) of volcanoes on Earth arranged by elevation in metres.
6,000 metres
5,000 metres
4,000 metres
3,000 metres
2,000 metres
1,000 metres
Below 1,000 metres
From its base on the ocean floor
A list (in ...
*
Lists of mountains
*
Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain on any planet in the Solar System
*
Rheasilvia crater's central peak, the tallest mountain in the Solar System
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
* (1990–2005).
*
* Some other topographic maps and much from the external links listed above
* Soviet military 1:100,000 topographic maps (most from 1980 to 1981)
External links
SummitPost.org(currently with detailed description of 30 of the top 100 peaks)
(including all mountains in the world with >1,450m prominence)
Alpine Club Himalayan index(Especially informative for history of ascents and location of obscure peaks)
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080427142155/http://echidna.rutgers.edu/expeditions/Hispar/Default.htm Hispar area: expedition reports and mapsList of highest mountains down to 6750 metresGoogle Earth Community(Google Earth KMZ file of Wikipedia list of highest mountains)
List of worlds highest mountains in Nepal
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Highest Mountains
Mountains, Highest
Mountains, Highest
Highest things