From the eight-thousanders of the Himalaya to the great peaks of the Andes and Alaska, this reference ranks the world’s highest mountains by elevation. Each entry shows the height in metres and feet, the range and country, and the year of first ascent where it is recorded.
How it works
Mountains are ranked by elevation above sea level, the standard measure for “highest”. The list records:
- Height — in metres (the international standard) and feet, converted at 1 m = 3.28084 ft.
- Range and country — where the peak sits and which nation or border it lies on.
- First ascent — the year the summit was first reached, where documented.
The 14 peaks above 8,000 m — the eight-thousanders — are all clustered in the Himalaya and Karakoram, which is why the top of the list is dominated by Asia.
Tips and notes
“Tallest” depends on how you measure: Everest wins by sea-level elevation, but Mauna Kea is taller base-to-peak and Chimborazo’s summit is farthest from Earth’s centre because of the equatorial bulge. Elevations are revised occasionally as survey techniques improve — Everest’s official height was updated in 2020 — so the figures here reflect the most widely accepted recent measurements.