Topographic isolation
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum great-circle distance to a point of equal elevation. Topographic isolation represents a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. Topographic isolation can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain peaks. Topographic isolation 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 |
29,029 ft |
8848 m29,029 ft |
8848 mn/a |
2 | Aconcagua | South America | Argentina | 22,841 ft |
6962 m22,841 ft |
6962 m10,264 mi |
16,518 km
3 | Denali | North America | United States (Alaska) | 20,320 ft |
6194 m20,174 ft |
6149 m4,629 mi |
7,450 km
4 | Kilimanjaro | Africa | Tanzania | 19,341 ft |
5895 m19,308 ft |
5885 m3,424 mi |
5,510 km
5 | Puncak Jaya | New Guinea | Indonesia | 16,024 ft |
4884 m16,024 ft |
4884 m3,269 mi |
5,262 km
6 | Vinson Massif | Antarctica | Antarctica | 16,050 ft |
4892 m16,050 ft |
4892 m3,052 mi |
4,911 km
7 | Mont Orohena | Tahiti | French Polynesia | 7,352 ft |
2241 m7,352 ft |
2241 m2,565 mi |
4,128 km
8 | Mauna Kea | Hawai'i | United States (Hawai'i) | 13,796 ft |
4205 m13,796 ft |
4205 m2,453 mi |
3,947 km
9 | Gunnbjørn Fjeld | Greenland | Greenland | 12,119 ft |
3694 m12,119 ft |
3694 m2,022 mi |
3,254 km
10 | Aoraki/Mount Cook | South Island | New Zealand | 12,316 ft |
3754 m12,316 ft |
3754 m1,951 mi |
3,140 km
11 | Thabana Ntlenyana | Africa | Lesotho | 11,424 ft |
3482 m7,841 ft |
2390 m1,866 mi |
3,003 km
12 | Maunga Terevaka | Rapa Nui | Chile | 1,660 ft |
506 m1,660 ft |
506 m1,762 mi |
2,836 km
13 | Mont Blanc | Eurasia | France Italy |
15,781 ft |
4810 m15,410 ft |
4697 m1,747 mi |
2,812 km
14 | Piton des Neiges | Réunion | France | 10,075 ft |
3071 m10,075 ft |
3071 m1,720 mi |
2,767 km
15 | Klyuchevskaya Sopka | Eurasia | Russia (Kamchatka) | 15,584 ft |
4750 m15,253 ft |
4649 m1,708 mi |
2,748 km
16 | Pico de Orizaba | North America | Mexico | 18,491 ft |
5636 m16,148 ft |
4922 m1,672 mi |
2,690 km
17 | Queen Mary's Peak | Tristan da Cunha | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | 6,759 ft |
2060 m6,759 ft |
2060 m1,656 mi |
2,665 km
18 | Mount Whitney | North America | United States (California) | 14,505 ft |
4421 m10,080 ft |
3072 m1,646 mi |
2,649 km
19 | Gunung Kinabalu | Borneo | Malaysia | 13,435 ft |
4095 m13,435 ft |
4095 m1,577 mi |
2,538 km
20 | Mount Elbrus | Eurasia | Russia | 18,510 ft |
5642 m15,554 ft |
4741 m1,536 mi |
2,473 km
21 | Pico da Bandeira | South America | Brazil | 9,505 ft |
2897 m8,684 ft |
2647 m1,487 mi |
2,393 km
22 | Mont Cameroun | Africa | Cameroon | 13,255 ft |
4040 m12,799 ft |
3901 m1,453 mi |
2,338 km
23 | Mount Paget | South Georgia | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 9,564 ft |
2915 m9,564 ft |
2915 m1,410 mi |
2,269 km
24 | Mauga Silisili | Savai'i | Samoa | 6,096 ft |
1858 m6,096 ft |
1858 m1,395 mi |
2,245 km
25 | Nevado Huascarán | South America | Peru | 22,133 ft |
6746 m9,108 ft |
2776 m1,365 mi |
2,196 km
26 | Anai Mudi | Eurasia | India | 8,842 ft |
2695 m8,136 ft |
2480 m1,314 mi |
2,115 km
27 | Jebel Toubkal | Africa | Morocco | 13,671 ft |
4167 m12,320 ft |
3755 m1,291 mi |
2,078 km
28 | Mount Fuji | Honshu | Japan | 12,388 ft |
3776 m12,388 ft |
3776 m1,291 mi |
2,077 km
29 | Emi Koussi | Africa | Chad | 11,302 ft |
3445 m9,626 ft |
2934 m1,243 mi |
2,001 km
30 | Mawson Peak | Heard Island | Heard Island and McDonald Islands | 9,006 ft |
2745 m9,006 ft |
2745 m1,194 mi |
1,922 km
31 | Mount Mitchell | North America | United States (North Carolina) | 6,684 ft |
2037 m6,091 ft |
1857 m1,189 mi |
1,913 km
32 | Gunung Kerinci | Sumatra | Indonesia | 12,484 ft |
3805 m12,484 ft |
3805 m1,184 mi |
1,905 km
33 | Agrihan High Point | Agrihan | Northern Mariana Islands | 3,166 ft |
965 m3,166 ft |
965 m1,182 mi |
1,902 km
34 | Mount Kosciuszko | Australia | Australia | 7,310 ft |
2228 m7,310 ft |
2228 m1,177 mi |
1,895 km
35 | Olavtoppen | Bouvet Island | Bouvet Island | 2,559 ft |
780 m2,559 ft |
780 m1,153 mi |
1,856 km
36 | Jarvis High Point | Jarvis Island | United States Minor Outlying Islands | 23 ft |
7 m23 ft |
7 m1,151 mi |
1,852 km
37 | Mascarin Peak | Marion Island | South Africa | 4,035 ft |
1230 m4,035 ft |
1230 m1,148 mi |
1,848 km
38 | Green Mountain | Ascension Island | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | 2,818 ft |
859 m2,818 ft |
859 m1,145 mi |
1,842 km
39 | Gora Narodnaya | Eurasia | Russia | 6,217 ft |
1895 m5,814 ft |
1772 m1,141 mi |
1,836 km
40 | Yushan | Taiwan | Taiwan | 12,966 ft |
3952 m12,966 ft |
3952 m1,128 mi |
1,815 km
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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Monte Bianco dal Dome du Gouter.jpg
13. Mont Blanc is the highest peak of Western Europe.
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14. Piton des Neiges is the apex of Réunion.
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15. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest peak of Kamchatka.
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16. Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak of Mexico.
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18. Mount Whitney is the highest peak of the contiguous United States.
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19. Gunung Kinabalu is the apex of Borneo.
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20. Mount Elbrus is the highest peak of Europe.
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Pico da bandeira.jpg
21. Pico da Bandeira is the third highest peak of Brazil.
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Mt. Cameroon old lava flows 2.jpg
22. Mount Cameroon is the highest peak of Cameroon.
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Mount Paget.jpeg
23. 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