The world's longest above-water mountain range is the Andes,[1] about 7000km (4,000miles) long. The range stretches from north to south through seven countries in South America, along the west coast of the continent: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Aconcagua is the highest peak, at about 6962m (22,841feet).
This list does not include submarine mountain ranges. If submarine mountains are included, the longest is the global mid-ocean ridge system which extends for about 65000km (40,000miles).[2]
Mountain chains are typically formed by the process of plate tectonics. Tectonic plates slide very slowly over the Earth's mantle, a lower place of rock that is heated from the Earth's interior. Several huge sections of the Earth's crust are impelled by heat currents in the mantle, producing tremendous forces that can buckle the material at the edges of the plates to form mountains. Usually one plate is forced underneath the other, and the lower plate is slowly absorbed by the mantle. Where the two plates pass one another, heated rock from the mantle can burst through the crust to form volcanoes. The movement of the plates against one another can also cause earthquakes.
| Rank | Range | Continent | Country | Coordinates | Approx. length | Approx. width | Max. elevation | Highest point | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andes | South America | Argentina Bolivia Chile Colombia Ecuador Peru Venezuela | 7000km (4,000miles) | 500km (300miles) | 6962m (22,841feet) | Mount Aconcagua | ||
| 2 | Southern Great Escarpment | Africa[3] [4] [5] | Zimbabwe South Africa Eswatini Lesotho Namibia Angola | 5000km (3,000miles) | 300km (200miles) | 3482m (11,424feet) | Mofadi | ||
| 3 | Rocky Mountains | North America[6] [7] [8] | Canada United States | 4800km (3,000miles) | 300km (200miles) | 4401m (14,439feet) | Mount Elbert | ||
| 4 | Transantarctic Mountains | Antarctica[9] [10] [11] | Antarctica | 3500km (2,200miles) | 400km (200miles) | 4528m (14,856feet) | Mount Kirkpatrick | ||
| 5 | Great Dividing Range | Australia[12] [13] [14] [15] | Australia | 3500km (2,200miles) | 300km (200miles) | 2228m (7,310feet) | Mount Kosciuszko | ||
| 6 | North America [16] | United States | 36°N 81°W | 3,200 km (2,000 mi) | 70 km (43 mi) | 2,037 m(6,684 ft)[17] | Mount Mitchell | ||
| 7 | Himalayas | Asia[18] [19] [20] | India Pakistan China Bhutan Nepal Afghanistan Myanmar | 2600km (1,600miles) | 350km (220miles) | 8848m (29,029feet) | Mount Everest | ||
| 8 | Ural Mountains | Asia and Europe[21] | Russia Kazakhstan | 2500km (1,600miles) | 150km (90miles) | 1895m (6,217feet) | Mount Narodnaya | ||
| 9 | Atlas Mountains | Africa |