Topographic isolation explained
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. Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, has an undefined isolation, since there are no higher points to reference.[1]
Because topographic isolation can be difficult to determine, a common approximation is the distance to a peak called the Nearest higher neighbour (NHN).[2]
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 |
| n/a |
| 2 | Aconcagua | South America | (Mendoza) | Tirich Mir (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) |
| 3 | Denali | North America | (Alaska) | Yanamax (Xinjiang, China) |
| 4 | Kilimanjaro | Africa | | Kuh-e Shashgal (Afghanistan) |
| 5 | Puncak Jaya | New Guinea | (Papua) | Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yunnan, China) |
| 6 | Vinson Massif | Antarctica | | Risco Plateado (Mendoza, Argentina) |
| 7 | Mont Orohena | Tahiti | | Mount Ngauruhoe (New Zealand) |
| 8 | Mauna Kea | Hawai'i | (Hawai'i) | Mount Shasta (California, US) |
| 9 | Gunnbjørn Fjeld | Greenland | | The Eiger (Canton of Bern, Switzerland) |
| 10 | Aoraki / Mount Cook | South Island | | Mount Adam (Victoria Land, Antarctica) |
| 11 | Thabana Ntlenyana | Africa | | Mount Meru (Tanzania) |
| 12 | Maunga Terevaka | Easter Island | | Cerro de Los Inocentes (Alejandro Selkirk Island, Chile) |
| 13 | Mont Blanc | Eurasia |
| (Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia) |
| 14 | Piton des Neiges | Réunion | | Giant's Castle (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) |
| 15 | Klyuchevskaya Sopka | Eurasia | (Kamchatka) | Mount Foraker (Alaska, US) |
| 16 | Pico de Orizaba | North America | (Puebla) | Pico Cristóbal Colón (Magdalena Department, Colombia) |
| 17 | Queen Mary's Peak | Tristan da Cunha | | Mount Paget (South Georgia Island, UK) |
| 18 | Mount Whitney | North America | (California) | Nevado de Toluca (State of Mexico, Mexico) |
| 19 | Gunung Kinabalu | Borneo | (Sabah) | Ngga Pilimsit (Papua, Indonesia) |
| 20 | Mount Elbrus | Eurasia | (Kabardino-Balkaria) | Pik Agasis (Tajikistan) |
| 21 | Pico da Bandeira | South America | (Espírito Santo) | (Bolivia) |
| 22 | Mont Cameroun | Africa | | Mikeno (Democratic Republic of the Congo) |
| 23 | Mount Paget | South Georgia | | Welch Mountains (Palmer Land, Antarctica) |
| 24 | Mauga Silisili | Savai'i | | Tabwemasana (Vanuatu) |
| 25 | Nevado Huascarán | South America | | Tres Cruces (Chile/Argentina border) |
| 26 | Anamudi | Eurasia | (Kerala) | Machapuchare (Nepal) |
| 27 | Jebel Toubkal | Africa | | Picco Luigi Amedeo (Italy) |
| 28 | Mount Fuji | Honshu | (Chūbu) | Xueshan (Taiwan) |
| 29 | Emi Koussi | Africa | | Mount Cameroon (Cameroon) |
| 30 | Mawson Peak | Heard Island | (Heard and McDonald Islands) | Mount McMaster (Enderby Land, Antarctica) |
| 31 | Mount Mitchell | North America | (North Carolina) | Lone Butte (Colorado, US) |
| 32 | Gunung Kerinci | Sumatra | (West Sumatra)k | Gunung Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia) |
| 33 | Joe's Hill | Kiritimati | | Puu Ki (Hawaii, US) |
| 34 | Agrihan High Point | Agrihan | | Mount Amagi (Chūbu, Japan) |
| 35 | Mount Kosciuszko | Australia | (New South Wales) | Tutoko (New Zealand) |
| 36 | Olavtoppen | Bouvet Island | | Edinburgh Peak (Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean) |
| 37 | Mascarin Peak | Marion Island | (Prince Edward Islands) | Cockscomb (Eastern Cape, South Africa) |
| 38 | Green Mountain | Ascension Island | | Mount Richard-Molard (Ivory Coast/Guinea border) |
| 39 | Gora Narodnaya | Eurasia | (Khanty-Mansi) | Kattotjåkkå (Sweden) |
| 40 | Yushan | Taiwan | | Peak 4030 (Yunnan, 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. (4,978 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.[3] With a topographic prominence of 2473 m, Musala is also the 6th highest peak by topographic prominence in mainland Europe.[4]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Kirmse . Andrew . de Ferranti . Jonathan . Calculating the prominence and isolation of every mountain in the world . Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment . December 2017 . 41 . 6 . 788–802 . 10.1177/0309133317738163 . 8 May 2024.
- https://www.peakbagger.com/help/glossary.aspx#nhn Nearest higher neighbour
- Web site: Most Isolated Peak of Europe Countries - Peakbagger.com.
- Web site: Europe Ultra-Prominences. Peaklist. 26 February 2015.
