Topographic isolation

The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum 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.

Topographic isolation and prominence

Isolation table

The following sortable table lists Earth's 40 most topographically isolated summits.

The 40 most topographically isolated summits on Earth
Rank Summit Landmass Country Elevation Prominence Isolation Nearest higher neighbour
1 Mount Everest Eurasia    Nepal
 China		 8848 m
29,029 ft		8848 m
29,029 ft		n/a n/a
2 Aconcagua South America  Argentina (Mendoza) 6962 m
22,841 ft		6962 m
22,841 ft		16,518 km
10,264 mi		 Tirich Mir
3 Denali North America  United States (Alaska) 6194 m
20,320 ft		6149 m
20,174 ft		7,450 km
4,629 mi		 Yanamax
4 Kilimanjaro Africa  Tanzania 5895 m
19,341 ft		5885 m
19,308 ft		5,510 km
3,424 mi		 Tirich Mir
5 Puncak Jaya New Guinea  Indonesia 4884 m
16,024 ft		4884 m
16,024 ft		5,262 km
3,269 mi		 Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
6 Vinson Massif Antarctica  Antarctica 4892 m
16,050 ft		4892 m
16,050 ft		4,861 km
3,020 mi		 Risco Plateado
7 Mont Orohena Tahiti  French Polynesia 2241 m
7,352 ft		2241 m
7,352 ft		4,128 km
2,565 mi		 Mount Ngauruhoe
8 Mauna Kea Hawai'i  United States (Hawai'i) 4205 m
13,796 ft		4205 m
13,796 ft		3,947 km
2,453 mi		 Mount Shasta
9 Gunnbjørn Fjeld Greenland  Greenland 3694 m
12,119 ft		3694 m
12,119 ft		3,254 km
2,022 mi		 The Eiger
10 Aoraki / Mount Cook South Island  New Zealand 3754 m
12,316 ft		3754 m
12,316 ft		3,140 km
1,951 mi		 Mount Adam
11 Thabana Ntlenyana Africa  Lesotho 3482 m
11,424 ft		2390 m
7,841 ft		3,003 km
1,866 mi		 Mount Meru (Tanzania)
12 Maunga Terevaka Rapa Nui  Chile 506 m
1,660 ft		506 m
1,660 ft		2,836 km
1,762 mi		 Cerro de Los Inocentes
13 Mont Blanc Eurasia  France
 Italy		 4810 m
15,781 ft		4697 m
15,410 ft		2,812 km
1,747 mi		 Kukurtlu Dome
14 Piton des Neiges Réunion  France 3071 m
10,075 ft		3071 m
10,075 ft		2,767 km
1,720 mi		 Giant's Castle
15 Klyuchevskaya Sopka Eurasia  Russia (Kamchatka) 4750 m
15,584 ft		4649 m
15,253 ft		2,748 km
1,708 mi		 Mount Foraker
16 Pico de Orizaba North America  Mexico 5636 m
18,491 ft		4922 m
16,148 ft		2,690 km
1,672 mi		 Pico Cristóbal Colón
17 Queen Mary's Peak Tristan da Cunha  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 2060 m
6,759 ft		2060 m
6,759 ft		2,665 km
1,656 mi		 Mount Paget
18 Mount Whitney North America  United States (California) 4421 m
14,505 ft		3072 m
10,080 ft		2,649 km
1,646 mi		 Nevado de Toluca
19 Gunung Kinabalu Borneo  Malaysia 4095 m
13,435 ft		4095 m
13,435 ft		2,538 km
1,577 mi		 Ngga Pilimsit
20 Mount Elbrus Eurasia  Russia 5642 m
18,510 ft		4741 m
15,554 ft		2,473 km
1,536 mi		 Pik Agasis
21 Pico da Bandeira South America  Brazil 2897 m
9,505 ft		2647 m
8,684 ft		2,393 km
1,487 mi		 Cerro Naranjos
22 Mont Cameroun Africa  Cameroon 4040 m
13,255 ft		3901 m
12,799 ft		2,338 km
1,453 mi		 Mikeno
23 Mount Paget South Georgia  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 2915 m
9,564 ft		2915 m
9,564 ft		2,269 km
1,410 mi		 Welch Mountains
24 Mauga Silisili Savai'i  Samoa 1858 m
6,096 ft		1858 m
6,096 ft		2,245 km
1,395 mi		 Tabwemasana
25 Nevado Huascarán South America  Peru 6746 m
22,133 ft		2776 m
9,108 ft		2,196 km
1,365 mi		 Tres Cruces
26 Anamudi Eurasia  India 2695 m
8,842 ft		2480 m
8,136 ft		2,115 km
1,314 mi		 Machapuchare
27 Jebel Toubkal Africa  Morocco 4167 m
13,671 ft		3755 m
12,320 ft		2,078 km
1,291 mi		 Picco Luigi Amedeo
28 Mount Fuji Honshu  Japan 3776 m
12,388 ft		3776 m
12,388 ft		2,077 km
1,291 mi		 Ch'ih-k'e Shan
29 Emi Koussi Africa  Chad 3445 m
11,302 ft		2934 m
9,626 ft		2,001 km
1,243 mi		 Mount Cameroon
30 Mawson Peak Heard Island  Heard Island and McDonald Islands 2745 m
9,006 ft		2745 m
9,006 ft		1,922 km
1,194 mi		 Mount McMaster
31 Mount Mitchell North America  United States (North Carolina) 2037 m
6,684 ft		1857 m
6,091 ft		1,913 km
1,189 mi		 Lone Butte
32 Gunung Kerinci Sumatra  Indonesia 3805 m
12,484 ft		3805 m
12,484 ft		1,905 km
1,184 mi		 Gunung Kinabalu
33 Agrihan High Point Agrihan  Northern Mariana Islands 965 m
3,166 ft		965 m
3,166 ft		1,902 km
1,182 mi		 Mount Amagi
34 Mount Kosciuszko Australia  Australia 2228 m
7,310 ft		2228 m
7,310 ft		1,895 km
1,177 mi		 Tutoko
35 Olavtoppen Bouvet Island  Bouvet Island 780 m
2,559 ft		780 m
2,559 ft		1,856 km
1,153 mi		 Edinburgh Peak
36 Jarvis High Point Jarvis Island  United States Minor Outlying Islands 7 m
23 ft		7 m
23 ft		1,852 km
1,151 mi		 Lata Mountain
37 Mascarin Peak Marion Island  South Africa 1230 m
4,035 ft		1230 m
4,035 ft		1,848 km
1,148 mi		 Cockscomb
38 Green Mountain Ascension Island  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 859 m
2,818 ft		859 m
2,818 ft		1,842 km
1,145 mi		 Mont Richard-Molard
39 Gora Narodnaya Eurasia  Russia 1895 m
6,217 ft		1772 m
5,814 ft		1,836 km
1,141 mi		 Kattotjåkkå
40 Yushan Taiwan  Taiwan 3952 m
12,966 ft		3952 m
12,966 ft		1,815 km
1,128 mi		 Peak 4030, China

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 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, Aconcagua, the 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. Kukurtlu (4,912 m), which rises near Mount Elbrus (5,633 m), is the reference peak for Mont Blanc.
  • Musala is the highest peak in Rila mountain, also in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula mountain system; standing at 2,925 m (9,596 ft) it is the 4th most topographically isolated major peak in Continental Europe.[1][2] With a topographic prominence of 2473 m, Musala is also the 6th highest peak by topographic prominence in mainland Europe.[3]
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See also

References
  1. https://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=337
  2. https://biodiversity.europa.eu/topics/ecosystems-and-habitats/mountains
  3. "Europe Ultra-Prominences". Peaklist. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
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