Aerial view of Mount Everest from the south. The peak rises over Lhotse, while Nuptse is the ridge on the left.
There are at least 108 mountains on Earth with elevations of 7,200m (23,622.0ft; 4.5mi) or greater above sea level. Of these, 14 have an elevation of more than 8,000m (26,246.7ft; 5.0mi). The vast majority of these mountains are part of either the Himalayas or the Karakoram mountain ranges located on the edge of the Indian plate and Eurasian plate in China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Discussion
Figure demonstrating the concept of topographic prominence: The prominence of a peak is the height of the peak's summit above the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit. For example, vertical arrows show the topographic prominence of three peaks on an island. A dotted horizontal line links each peak (except the highest) to its key col.
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 300m (984ft) 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 500m (1,640ft) 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 on the north Tibetan Plateau is often listed as 7,723m (25,338ft) to 7,754m (25,440ft), but appears to be only 6,973m (22,877ft) to 6,987m (22,923ft). Some mountains differ by more than 100m (330ft) on different maps, while even very thorough current measurements of Mount Everest range from 8,840m (29,003ft) to 8,849m (29,032ft). 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 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 7,200m (23,622ft) peaks.
The highest mountains above sea level are generally not the highest mountains above the surrounding terrain, also called the highest free-standing mountains. There is no precise definition of surrounding base, but Denali, 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 (4,207m (13,802ft) above sea level) is the world's tallest mountain and volcano, rising about 10,203m (33,474ft) from the Pacific Ocean floor. Mount Lamlam on Guam 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 Deep313 kilometres (194mi) away, Mount Lamlam is 11,530 metres (37,820ft) tall. Ojos del Salado has the greatest rise on Earth: 13,420m (44,029ft) vertically to the summit[citation needed] from the bottom of the Atacama Trench, which is about 560km (350mi) away, although most of this rise is not part of the mountain.
The highest mountains are also not generally the most voluminous. Mauna Loa (4,169m or 13,678ft) is the largest mountain on Earth in terms of base area (about 5,200km2 or 2,000sqmi) and volume (about 42,000km3 or 10,000mi3), although, due to the intergrade of lava from Kilauea, Hualalai and Mauna Kea, 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 (635km2 or 245sqmi) and volume (4,793km3 or 1,150mi3). Mount Logan is the largest non-volcanic mountain in base area (311km2 or 120sqmi).
The highest mountains above sea level are also not those with peaks farthest from the centre of the Earth, because the shape of the Earth is not spherical. Sea level closer to the equator is several kilometres farther from the centre of the Earth. The summit of Chimborazo, Ecuador's tallest mountain, is usually considered to be the farthest point from the Earth's centre, although the southern summit of Peru's tallest mountain, Huascarán, is another contender. Both have elevations above sea level more than 2km (1.2mi) less than that of Everest.
Geographical distribution
Number of mountain peaks over 7,200 metres (23,622ft) above sea level, including subsidiary peaks.
↑Peaks which are considered sub-prominences are given a rank of "S".
↑For Nepal, the heights indicated on the Nepal Topographic Maps are followed. For China and the Baltoro Karakoram, the heights are those of Mi Desheng's "The Maps of Snow Mountains in China". For the Hispar Karakoram the heights on a Russian 1:100,000 topo map. Elsewhere, unless otherwise indicated, heights are those in Neate (1989).
↑Prominences over 1,500m (4,900ft) are from Peaklist.org, the remainder from Jurgalski and de Ferrantin.
↑Coordinates were established by comparing topographical maps with satellite images and SRTM-derived terrain maps. The terrain maps and satellite images often do not match exactly. An asterisk (*) indicates that the map and image are shifted by more than 100m (330ft) and/or that the landscapes around the summit do not match.
↑The first higher mountain beyond the key saddle with at least 500m (1,600ft) prominence itself.
↑The number of ascents and failed attempts up to 2004 is extracted from Alpine Club Himalayan Index. These are the number of expeditions (not individuals) that announced their ascent or attempt in a journal. They are probably quite accurate for the rarely climbed peaks (though omissions were noted), but greatly underestimate the number of ascending parties on the easier and/or more popular mountains, like most eight-thousanders. For instance, up to 2004 Mount Everest was scaled 2,251 times by individuals.
123The sovereignty over the Kashmir region, containing much of the area of Karakoram and Western Himalayas, is disputed and the region is partly administered by India, Pakistan and China.
12Only the lower Apsarasis I (7241 m) has been climbed, the higher Apsarasis II and Apsarasis III have not been climbed.
↑Given the large differences between multiple "definitive" measurements of Mount Everest, the height agreed by China and Nepal on 8 December 2020 8,848.86m (29,031.7ft) is used for the rounded values. For more information, see Mount Everest#Surveys.
↑Cho Oyu's height is 8,188m (26,864ft) according to the Nepal Survey's 1996 topographical map, which represents the best known measurement to date. Previous estimates have been 8,153m (26,749ft) and 8,201m (26,906ft).
↑The 1998 1:50,000 National Geographic map of Mount Everest has a height of 7,583m (24,879ft) for "Bei Peak" and 7,066m (23,182ft) for Bei'ao (North Col), giving a 517m (1,696ft) prominence. Mi Desheng's 1997 1:100,000 map of the Everest region has a 7,543m (24,747ft) summit and a 7,042m (23,104ft) indication near the col, not quite corresponding to the lowest pass. His 1975 1:50,000 version (in Chinese only) has Changtse at 7,580m (24,870ft) and North Col at 7,028m (23,058ft). All maps agree that the eastern summit is the highest.