The highest mountains in the world

Eight-thousanders: The highest mountains in the world

All 14 mountains with a height of more than 8,000 meters are located in the mountains of Central and South Asia, as well as western China. This is even true for all seven-thousand-meter peaks. The highest peak outside Asia is Aconcagua in the Argentine Andes at 6,962 meters (22,841 ft). The Rocky Mountains follow much later with Mount Elbert (4,401 meters / 14,439 ft).

In general, only the highest point of a mountain is considered a "peak" as such. Of course, a mountain can also have further and lower secondary peaks, which are still higher than other mountains.

Prominence: Relative height to surroundings

A small hill on top of a large mountain would have an extremely high peak just because of its surroundings — at least if you measure it in relation to sea level. Therefore, in addition to the absolute height, the topographic "prominence" is also measured, often called the autonomous height or shoulder drop. This is the relative height to the actual base of the mountain, which can also be a foothill of a plateau. The drop is the deepest cut between the peaks. The "dominance" is also recorded in the classification of mountains. It is the horizontal distance between two peaks.

What is a mountain?

There is no exact distinction between a mountain and a hill. Mountains are usually steeper and higher. Also, a mountain has an independence, so a large hill on a mountain plateau does not become a mountain itself. For the demarcation of two connected geoformations, the topographic prominence (shoulder drop) and dominance (distance between each other) are also used. Here again, there are no uniform absolute values. In the European Alps, for example, a prominence of 30 meters is considered to be the standard for the independence of a mountain. In the Himalayas, up to 500 meters is used as a criterion. For the more than 1,500 mountains worldwide with a prominence of over 1,500 meters (4,921 ft), the term "Ultra Prominent Peak" has become established.

The highest mountain ranges and their peaks

In terms of height, but not necessarily the extent of the mountains, the following list results, in which the highest mountain ranges worldwide are listed by their highest peaks:

Seven Summits: The highest mountains on each continent

A sporting challenge is to climb the highest mountains on each continent. However, there is a problem in defining the limits. The following list goes back to the American Dick Bass. Also known, however, is a slightly different list of the Seven Summits by the Italian Reinhold Messner, who considers Mont Blanc (4,810 m) to be the highest European mountain and Puncak Jaya in Indonesia (4,884 m) to be the highest Australian mountain.