Topographic isolation
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum great-circle distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain peaks, and can even be calculated for submarine summits.
Isolation table
The following sortable table lists the Earth's 40 most topographically isolated summits.
Rank | Summit | Landmass | Country | Elevation | Prominence | Isolation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mount Everest | Eurasia | China Nepal |
m 29,029 ft | 8848 m 29,029 ft | 8848n/a |
2 | Aconcagua | South America | Argentina | m 22,841 ft | 6962 m 22,841 ft | 6962 km 10,264 mi | 16,518
3 | Denali | North America | United States (Alaska) | m 20,320 ft | 6194 m 20,174 ft | 6149 km 4,629 mi | 7,450
4 | Kilimanjaro | Africa | Tanzania | m 19,341 ft | 5895 m 19,308 ft | 5885 km 3,424 mi | 5,510
5 | Puncak Jaya | New Guinea | Indonesia | m 16,024 ft | 4884 m 16,024 ft | 4884 km 3,269 mi | 5,262
6 | Vinson Massif | Antarctica | Antarctica | m 16,050 ft | 4892 m 16,050 ft | 4892 km 3,052 mi | 4,911
7 | Mont Orohena | Tahiti | French Polynesia | m 7,352 ft | 2241 m 7,352 ft | 2241 km 2,565 mi | 4,128
8 | Mauna Kea | Hawai'i | United States (Hawai'i) | m 13,796 ft | 4205 m 13,796 ft | 4205 km 2,453 mi | 3,947
9 | Gunnbjørn Fjeld | Greenland | Greenland | m 12,119 ft | 3694 m 12,119 ft | 3694 km 2,022 mi | 3,254
10 | Aoraki/Mount Cook | South Island | New Zealand | m 12,316 ft | 3754 m 12,316 ft | 3754 km 1,951 mi | 3,140
11 | Thabana Ntlenyana | Africa | Lesotho | m 11,424 ft | 3482 m 7,841 ft | 2390 km 1,866 mi | 3,003
12 | Maunga Terevaka | Rapa Nui | Chile | m 1,660 ft | 506 m 1,660 ft | 506 km 1,762 mi | 2,836
13 | Mont Blanc | Eurasia | France Italy |
m 15,781 ft | 4810 m 15,410 ft | 4697 km 1,747 mi | 2,812
14 | Piton des Neiges | Réunion | France | m 10,075 ft | 3071 m 10,075 ft | 3071 km 1,720 mi | 2,767
15 | Klyuchevskaya Sopka | Eurasia | Russia (Kamchatka) | m 15,584 ft | 4750 m 15,253 ft | 4649 km 1,708 mi | 2,748
16 | Pico de Orizaba | North America | Mexico | m 18,491 ft | 5636 m 16,148 ft | 4922 km 1,672 mi | 2,690
17 | Queen Mary's Peak | Tristan da Cunha | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | m 6,759 ft | 2060 m 6,759 ft | 2060 km 1,656 mi | 2,665
18 | Mount Whitney | North America | United States (California) | m 14,505 ft | 4421 m 10,080 ft | 3072 km 1,646 mi | 2,649
19 | Gunung Kinabalu | Borneo | Malaysia | m 13,435 ft | 4095 m 13,435 ft | 4095 km 1,577 mi | 2,538
20 | Mount Elbrus | Eurasia | Russia | m 18,510 ft | 5642 m 15,554 ft | 4741 km 1,536 mi | 2,473
21 | Pico da Bandeira | South America | Brazil | m 9,505 ft | 2897 m 8,684 ft | 2647 km 1,487 mi | 2,393
22 | Mont Cameroun | Africa | Cameroon | m 13,255 ft | 4040 m 12,799 ft | 3901 km 1,453 mi | 2,338
23 | Mount Paget | South Georgia | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | m 9,564 ft | 2915 m 9,564 ft | 2915 km 1,410 mi | 2,269
24 | Mauga Silisili | Savai'i | Samoa | m 6,096 ft | 1858 m 6,096 ft | 1858 km 1,395 mi | 2,245
25 | Nevado Huascarán | South America | Peru | m 22,133 ft | 6746 m 9,108 ft | 2776 km 1,365 mi | 2,196
26 | Anai Mudi | Eurasia | India | m 8,842 ft | 2695 m 8,136 ft | 2480 km 1,314 mi | 2,115
27 | Jebel Toubkal | Africa | Morocco | m 13,671 ft | 4167 m 12,320 ft | 3755 km 1,291 mi | 2,078
28 | Mount Fuji | Honshu | Japan | m 12,388 ft | 3776 m 12,388 ft | 3776 km 1,291 mi | 2,077
29 | Emi Koussi | Africa | Chad | m 11,302 ft | 3445 m 9,626 ft | 2934 km 1,243 mi | 2,001
30 | Mawson Peak | Heard Island | Heard Island and McDonald Islands | m 9,006 ft | 2745 m 9,006 ft | 2745 km 1,194 mi | 1,922
31 | Mount Mitchell | North America | United States (North Carolina) | m 6,684 ft | 2037 m 6,091 ft | 1857 km 1,189 mi | 1,913
32 | Gunung Kerinci | Sumatra | Indonesia | m 12,484 ft | 3805 m 12,484 ft | 3805 km 1,184 mi | 1,905
33 | Agrihan High Point | Agrihan | Northern Mariana Islands | m 3,166 ft | 965 m 3,166 ft | 965 km 1,182 mi | 1,902
34 | Mount Kosciuszko | Australia | Australia | m 7,310 ft | 2228 m 7,310 ft | 2228 km 1,177 mi | 1,895
35 | Olavtoppen | Bouvet Island | Bouvet Island | m 2,559 ft | 780 m 2,559 ft | 780 km 1,153 mi | 1,856
36 | Jarvis High Point | Jarvis Island | United States Minor Outlying Islands | m 23 ft | 7 m 23 ft | 7 km 1,151 mi | 1,852
37 | Mascarin Peak | Marion Island | South Africa | m 4,035 ft | 1230 m 4,035 ft | 1230 km 1,148 mi | 1,848
38 | Green Mountain | Ascension Island | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | m 2,818 ft | 859 m 2,818 ft | 859 km 1,145 mi | 1,842
39 | Gora Narodnaya | Eurasia | Russia | m 6,217 ft | 1895 m 5,814 ft | 1772 km 1,141 mi | 1,836
40 | Yushan | Taiwan | Taiwan | m 12,966 ft | 3952 m 12,966 ft | 3952 km 1,128 mi | 1,815
Examples
- The nearest peak to Germany's highest mountain, the 2,962-metre-high Zugspitze, that has a 2962-metre-contour is the Zwölferkogel (2,988 m) in Austria's Stubai Alps. The distance between the Zugspitze and this contour is, as the crow flies, 25.8 km; the Zugspitze is thus the highest peak for a radius of 25.8 km around. Its isolation is thus 25.8 km.
- Because there are no higher mountains than Mount Everest, it has no definitive isolation. Many sources list its isolation as the circumference of the earth over the poles or – questionably, because there is no agreed definition – as half the earth's circumference.
- After Mount Everest the Aconcagua, highest mountain of the American continents, has the greatest isolation of all mountains. There is no higher land for 16,534 kilometres when its height is first exceeded by Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush.
- Mont Blanc is the highest mountain of the Alps. The geographically nearest higher mountains are all in the Caucasus. The Kukurtlu (4,912 m), which rises near the Elbrus (5,633 m), is the reference peak for Mont Blanc.
Gallery
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1. Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak on Earth.
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2. Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.
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3. Denali is the highest peak of North America.
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4. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak of Africa.
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5. Puncak Jaya on New Guinea is the highest peak on any ocean island.
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6. The Vinson Massif is the highest peak of Antarctica.
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7. Mont Orohena on Tahiti is the highest peak of French Polynesia.
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8. Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaiʻi is the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base to summit.
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9. Gunnbjørn Fjeld on Greenland is the highest peak of the Arctic.
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10. Aoraki, or Mount Cook, on the South Island is the highest peak in New Zealand.
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11. Mont Blanc is the highest peak of Western Europe.
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12. Piton des Neiges is the apex of Réunion.
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13. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest peak of Kamchatka.
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14. Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak of Mexico.
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15. Mount Whitney is the highest peak of the contiguous United States.
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16. Gunung Kinabalu is the apex of Borneo.
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17. Mount Elbrus is the highest peak of Europe.
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18. Pico da Bandeira is the third highest peak of Brazil.
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19. Mount Cameroon is the highest peak of Cameroon.
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20. Mount Paget on South Georgia is the highest peak in the South Atlantic Ocean.
See also
- Table of the most isolated major summits of North America
- geodesy
- physical geography
- summit (topography)
- topographic elevation
- topographic prominence
- topography
External links
- bivouac.com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
- peakbagger.com
- peaklist.org
- peakware.com World Mountain Encyclopedia
- summitpost.org