Determining the world’s tallest mountains seems simple, but the answer can vary, depending on how the mountains are measured. Traditionally, the world’s tallest mountains were determined as measured from sea level. By this definition, there are about 450 mountain peaks over 7,000 meters, and (430 peaks over 23,000 feet) tall. Most of these are located in the following mountain ranges: Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush, Hengduan, Pamir, Tanggula, Nyain’a. All of these ranges are in Asia, specifically in Nepal, China, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
In fact, when measured by sea level, the tallest mountain peak outside of Asia is Aconcagua in Argentina that is 6,959 meters (22,831 feet). That puts it at about 485th of the world’s tallest mountains.
There are other ways of measuring mountains, however. Many islands are in fact undersea mountains, with just their tops poking out of the water. By this measure, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is tallest, at over 10,000 meters (32,808 feet). Measuring from the center of the planet gives yet a different result, with Ecuador’s Chimborazo the tallest. This mountain is 6,384 kilometers (3,967 miles) from the Earth’s core.
Here is a list of the ten highest peaks in the world, as measured from sea level. As you can see, eight of them are in or partially in Nepal:
Name
Country
Continent
Meters
Feet
Mount Everest
China, Nepal
Asia
8,850
29,035
K2
China, Pakistan
Asia
8,611
28,251
Kangchenjunga
India, Nepal
Asia
8,586
28,169
Lhotse
China, Nepal
Asia
8,516
27,940
Makalu
China, Nepal
Asia
8,485
27,838
Kangchenjunga South
India, Nepal
Asia
8,76
27,808
Lhotse Middle
Nepal
Asia
8,430
27,657
Kangchenjunga West
Nepal
Asia
8,420
27,25
Lhotse Shar
Nepal
Asia
8,400
27,559
Cho Oyu
China, Nepal
Asia
8,201
26,906
To put some of the giants listed above into perspective with the tallest mountains on each continent the world, take a look at the following chart:
Peak
Continent
Country
Height
Everest
Asia
China, Nepal
Aconcagua
South America
Argentina
McKinley
North America
U.S. (Alaska)
Kilimanjaro
Africa
Tanzania
Elbrus
Europe
Georgia
Vinson Massif
Antarctica
–
Mount Cook
Australasia
New Zealand
Here is a chart comparing the height of Mount Everest with other well-known mountains in the world:
Peak
Country
Height
Everest
Nepal, China
Dhaulagiri
Nepal
Annapurna
Nepal
Popocatepetl
Mexico
Blanc
France
Matterhorn
Switzerland, Italy
Rainier
U.S. (Washington)
Fuji
Japan