Topographic isolation

Summary

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]

Topographic isolation and prominence
A - Nearest higher neighbour

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

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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
16,520 km
10,265 mi
Tirich Mir (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan)
3 Denali North America   United States (Alaska) 6194 m
20,320 ft
6149 m
20,174 ft
7,450 km
4,629 mi
Yanamax (Xinjiang, China)
4 Kilimanjaro Africa   Tanzania 5895 m
19,341 ft
5885 m
19,308 ft
5,510 km
3,424 mi
Kuh-e Shashgal (Afghanistan)
5 Puncak Jaya New Guinea   Indonesia (Papua) 4884 m
16,024 ft
4884 m
16,024 ft
5,262 km
3,269 mi
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yunnan, China)
6 Vinson Massif Antarctica   Antarctica 4892 m
16,050 ft
4892 m
16,050 ft
4,861 km
3,020 mi
Risco Plateado (Mendoza, Argentina)
7 Mont Orohena Tahiti   French Polynesia 2241 m
7,352 ft
2241 m
7,352 ft
4,128 km
2,565 mi
Mount Ngauruhoe (New Zealand)
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 (California, US)
9 Gunnbjørn Fjeld Greenland   Greenland 3694 m
12,119 ft
3694 m
12,119 ft
3,254 km
2,022 mi
The Eiger (Canton of Bern, Switzerland)
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 (Victoria Land, Antarctica)
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 Easter Island   Chile 506 m
1,660 ft
506 m
1,660 ft
2,836 km
1,762 mi
Cerro de Los Inocentes (Alejandro Selkirk Island, Chile)
13 Mont Blanc Eurasia   France
  Italy
4809 m
15,778 ft
4696 m
15,407 ft
2,813 km
1,748 mi
Kukurtlu Dome [ru] (Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia)
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 (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
15 Klyuchevskaya Sopka Eurasia   Russia (Kamchatka) 4750 m
15,584 ft
4649 m
15,253 ft
2,748 km
1,708 mi
Mount Foraker (Alaska, US)
16 Pico de Orizaba North America   Mexico (Puebla) 5636 m
18,491 ft
4922 m
16,148 ft
2,690 km
1,672 mi
Pico Cristóbal Colón (Magdalena Department, Colombia)
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 (South Georgia Island, UK)
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 (State of Mexico, Mexico)
19 Gunung Kinabalu Borneo   Malaysia (Sabah) 4095 m
13,435 ft
4095 m
13,435 ft
2,538 km
1,577 mi
Ngga Pilimsit (Papua, Indonesia)
20 Mount Elbrus Eurasia   Russia (Kabardino-Balkaria) 5642 m
18,510 ft
4741 m
15,554 ft
2,473 km
1,536 mi
Pik Agasis (Tajikistan)
21 Pico da Bandeira South America   Brazil (Espírito Santo) 2897 m
9,505 ft
2647 m
8,684 ft
2,393 km
1,487 mi
Cerro Naranjos [es] (Bolivia)
22 Mont Cameroun Africa   Cameroon 4040 m
13,255 ft
3901 m
12,799 ft
2,338 km
1,453 mi
Mikeno (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
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 (Palmer Land, Antarctica)
24 Mauga Silisili Savai'i   Samoa 1858 m
6,096 ft
1858 m
6,096 ft
2,245 km
1,395 mi
Tabwemasana (Vanuatu)
25 Nevado Huascarán South America   Peru 6746 m
22,133 ft
2776 m
9,108 ft
2,196 km
1,365 mi
Tres Cruces (Chile/Argentina border)
26 Anamudi Eurasia   India (Kerala) 2695 m
8,842 ft
2480 m
8,136 ft
2,115 km
1,314 mi
Machapuchare (Nepal)
27 Jebel Toubkal Africa   Morocco 4167 m
13,671 ft
3755 m
12,320 ft
2,078 km
1,291 mi
Picco Luigi Amedeo (Italy)
28 Mount Fuji Honshu   Japan (Chūbu) 3776 m
12,388 ft
3776 m
12,388 ft
2,077 km
1,291 mi
Xueshan (Taiwan)
29 Emi Koussi Africa   Chad 3445 m
11,302 ft
2934 m
9,626 ft
2,001 km
1,243 mi
Mount Cameroon (Cameroon)
30 Mawson Peak Heard Island   Australia (Heard and McDonald Islands) 2745 m
9,006 ft
2745 m
9,006 ft
1,922 km
1,194 mi
Mount McMaster (Enderby Land, Antarctica)
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 (Colorado, US)
32 Gunung Kerinci Sumatra   Indonesia (West Sumatra) 3805 m
12,484 ft
3805 m
12,484 ft
1,905 km
1,184 mi
Gunung Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia)
33 Joe's Hill Kiritimati   Kiribati 13 m
43 ft
13 m
43 ft
1,903 km
1,182 mi
Puu Ki (Hawaii, US)
34 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 (Chūbu, Japan)
35 Mount Kosciuszko Australia   Australia (New South Wales) 2228 m
7,310 ft
2228 m
7,310 ft
1,895 km
1,177 mi
Tutoko (New Zealand)
36 Olavtoppen Bouvet Island   Bouvet Island 780 m
2,559 ft
780 m
2,559 ft
1,856 km
1,153 mi
Edinburgh Peak (Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean)
37 Mascarin Peak Marion Island   South Africa (Prince Edward Islands) 1230 m
4,035 ft
1230 m
4,035 ft
1,848 km
1,148 mi
Cockscomb (Eastern Cape, South Africa)
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
Mount Richard-Molard (Ivory Coast/Guinea border)
39 Gora Narodnaya Eurasia   Russia (Khanty-Mansi) 1895 m
6,217 ft
1772 m
5,814 ft
1,836 km
1,141 mi
Kattotjåkkå (Sweden)
40 Yushan Taiwan   Taiwan 3952 m
12,966 ft
3952 m
12,966 ft
1,815 km
1,128 mi
Peak 4030 (Yunnan, China)

Examples

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  • The nearest peak to Germany's highest mountain, the 2,962-metre (9,718 ft) high Zugspitze, that has a 2,962-metre (9,718 ft) contour is the 2,988-metre (9,803 ft) Zwölferkogel in Austria's Stubai Alps. The distance between the Zugspitze and this contour is 25.8 kilometres (16 mi); the Zugspitze is thus the highest peak for a radius of25.8 kilometres (16 mi). Its isolation is thus 25.8 kilometres (16 mi).
  • 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 Americas, has the greatest isolation of all mountains. There is no higher land for 16,534 kilometres (10,274 mi). 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 Dome [ru], 4,978 metres (16,332 ft), 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 fourth-most topographically isolated major peak in Continental Europe.[3] With a topographic prominence of 2,473 metres (8,114 ft), Musala is also the sixth-highest peak by topographic prominence in mainland Europe.[4]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kirmse, Andrew; de Ferranti, Jonathan (December 2017). "Calculating the prominence and isolation of every mountain in the world". Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment. 41 (6): 788–802. doi:10.1177/0309133317738163. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  2. ^ Nearest higher neighbour in glossary on www.peakbagger.com
  3. ^ "Most Isolated Peak of Europe Countries - Peakbagger.com".
  4. ^ "Europe Ultra-Prominences". Peaklist. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
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  • bivouac.com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
  • peakbagger.com
  • peaklist.org
  • peakware.com World Mountain Encyclopedia
  • summitpost.org