What are the Seven Summits?
Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven Summits. The Seven Summits are the tallest summits on each of the seven continents. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the continent of Africa. The routes only require hiking and do not require mountaineering skills. Because of this, It is the easiest of the Seven Summits to summit. Furthermore, the mountain draws thousands of people to it each year. Mount Kilimanjaro is also the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. So where does it rank in order of heights of the Seven Summits?
The highest peaks on each continent are known as the Seven Summits. The Seven Summits are:
- Mount Everest in Asia
- Aconcagua in South America
- Denali in North America
- Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa
- Mount Elbrus in Europe
- Vinson Massif in Antarctica
- Puncak Jaya in Oceania/Australia
Puncak Jaya is actually located in the Papua province of Indonesia. However, technically Puncak Jaya lies on the Australian continental shelf, called Oceania. The highest peak on the mainland of Australia is Mount Kosciuszko.
How tall are each of these mountains?
Click the image above for the name and location.
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. It currently stands at 29,029 feet above sea level. It is located on the border of Nepal and China. In China, it falls in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas.
The second highest peak is Aconcagua which stands 22,841 feet. It is located in Argentina. In fact, it is the highest standing mountain in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres and is located in the Andes mountain range.
The third highest peak is Denali at 20,320 feet. It is located in Alaska. President Obama restored the original name of Mount McKinley back to Denali, which has cultural significance to the native Alaskan people.
The fourth highest mountain is Mount Kilimanjaro it stands 19,340 feet and is located in Tanzania. It is the only free-standing mountain of the seven.
The fifth highest peak is Mount Elbrus. Elbrus stands at 18,510 feet. Elbrus is located in Russia. It is made up of two dormant volcanoes. Elbrus lies on top of a moving tectonic area and is linked to a fault line.
The sixth highest summit goes to Vinson Massif coming in at 16,050 feet. It is located in Antarctica. Vinson Massif lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It watches over the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Finally, the highest peak on the Australian continental shelf is Puncak Jaya measuring 16,024 feet. It is located in Indonesia. Australia is comprised of several countries and is part of Oceania. Oceania consists of Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. It also includes much less developed economies such as Papua New Guinea, Indonesian New Guinea, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu. Finally, many small Pacific islands such as Palau, Fiji, and Tonga are part of Oceania.
There is technically a taller mountain
Hold everything… On the big island of Hawaii lies Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is actually the tallest mountain in the world. It stands 13,802 feet above sea level. Its summit is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, most of the mountain is underwater. Mauna Kea is over 33,000 feet tall when measured from its oceanic base. Above all, this makes it the world’s tallest mountain from base to summit.