Giant Mountains

Topographic independence

Ultra-prominent peaks

An ultra-prominent peak has at least 1,500 metres of topographic prominence. This collection helps explain why prominence and elevation answer different geographic questions.

What makes a peak ultra-prominent?

Topographic prominence measures how far a summit rises above the lowest contour that connects it to higher terrain. A summit can be very high but have modest prominence if it sits on a larger high ridge, while a lower isolated mountain can have exceptional prominence.

The 1,500-metre threshold is a widely used convention for identifying especially independent summits. It is a classification threshold, not a measure of climbing difficulty or visual beauty.

MountainElevationProminenceRangeCountry
Mount Everest8,849 m8,849 mMahalangur Himal, HimalayaNepal / China
Aconcagua6,961 m6,961 mAndesArgentina
Denali6,190 m6,144 mAlaska RangeUnited States
Mount Kilimanjaro5,895 m5,885 mKilimanjaro massifTanzania
Pico Cristóbal Colón5,730 m5,584 mSierra Nevada de Santa MartaColombia
Mount Logan5,959 m5,250 mSaint Elias MountainsCanada
Pico de Orizaba5,636 m4,922 mTrans-Mexican Volcanic BeltMexico
Vinson Massif4,892 m4,892 mSentinel Range, Ellsworth MountainsAntarctica
Puncak Jaya4,884 m4,884 mSudirman RangeIndonesia
Mount Elbrus5,642 m4,741 mCaucasusRussia
Mont Blanc4,806 m4,696 mAlpsFrance / Italy
Mount Damavand5,610 m4,667 mAlborzIran
Nanga Parbat8,126 m4,608 mHimalayaPakistan
Mauna Kea4,207 m4,207 mHawaiian volcanoesUnited States
Jengish Chokusu7,439 m4,148 mTian ShanKyrgyzstan / China
Chimborazo6,263 m4,123 mAndesEcuador
Mount Kinabalu4,095 m4,095 mCrocker RangeMalaysia
Mount Rainier4,392 m4,026 mCascade RangeUnited States
K28,611 m4,017 mKarakoramPakistan / China
Ras Dashen4,550 m3,997 mSimien MountainsEthiopia
Pico Bolívar4,978 m3,957 mSierra Nevada de MéridaVenezuela
Yushan3,952 m3,952 mYushan RangeTaiwan
Mount Stanley5,109 m3,951 mRwenzori MountainsUganda / Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kangchenjunga8,586 m3,922 mHimalayaNepal / India
Tirich Mir7,708 m3,908 mHindu KushPakistan
Mount Cameroon4,040 m3,901 mCameroon Volcanic LineCameroon
Mount Kenya5,199 m3,825 mMount Kenya massifKenya
Mount Kerinci3,805 m3,805 mBarisan MountainsIndonesia
Mount Erebus3,794 m3,794 mRoss Island volcanoesAntarctica
Mount Fuji3,776 m3,776 mJapanese Alps region / Honshu volcanic arcJapan
Jebel Toubkal4,167 m3,755 mHigh AtlasMorocco
Mount Rinjani3,726 m3,726 mLombok volcanic complexIndonesia
Aoraki / Mount Cook3,724 m3,724 mSouthern AlpsNew Zealand
Teide3,715 m3,715 mTenerife volcanic complexSpain
Ojos del Salado6,893 m3,688 mAndesArgentina / Chile
Mount Ararat5,137 m3,611 mArmenian HighlandsTurkey
Kongur Tagh7,649 m3,585 mKongur ShanChina
Mount Saint Elias5,489 m3,429 mSaint Elias MountainsUnited States / Canada
Ismoil Somoni Peak7,495 m3,402 mPamir MountainsTajikistan
Dhaulagiri I8,167 m3,357 mDhaulagiri Himal, HimalayaNepal
Mercedario6,720 m3,333 mAndesArgentina
Mount Etna3,403 m3,329 mSicilian volcanic complexItaly
Mulhacén3,479 m3,285 mSierra NevadaSpain
Mount Meru4,566 m3,170 mEastern Rift volcanoesTanzania
Nanda Devi7,816 m3,139 mGarhwal HimalayaIndia
Manaslu8,163 m3,092 mMansiri Himal, HimalayaNepal
Mount Whitney4,421 m3,071 mSierra NevadaUnited States
Haleakalā3,055 m3,055 mMaui volcanic complexUnited States
Mount Lucania5,226 m3,016 mSaint Elias MountainsCanada
Mount Shasta4,322 m2,994 mCascade RangeUnited States
Annapurna I8,091 m2,984 mAnnapurna Himal, HimalayaNepal
Mount Wilhelm4,509 m2,969 mBismarck RangePapua New Guinea
Mount Apo2,954 m2,954 mMindanao volcanic highlandsPhilippines
Shishapangma8,027 m2,897 mJugal Himal, HimalayaChina
Mount Robson3,954 m2,829 mCanadian RockiesCanada
Rakaposhi7,788 m2,818 mKarakoramPakistan
Mount Ruapehu2,797 m2,797 mNorth Island Volcanic PlateauNew Zealand
Lenin Peak7,134 m2,790 mPamir MountainsKyrgyzstan / Tajikistan
Huascarán6,768 m2,776 mCordillera Blanca, AndesPeru
Tupungato6,570 m2,765 mAndesArgentina / Chile
Mount Elbert4,401 m2,765 mSawatch Range, Rocky MountainsUnited States
Puncak Mandala4,760 m2,760 mJayawijaya MountainsIndonesia
Mount Victoria4,038 m2,738 mOwen Stanley RangePapua New Guinea
Muztagh Ata7,509 m2,735 mEastern Pamir / Kunlun transitionChina
Mount Baker3,286 m2,698 mCascade RangeUnited States
Mount Sidley4,285 m2,517 mExecutive Committee RangeAntarctica
Mount Giluwe4,367 m2,507 mPapua New Guinea HighlandsPapua New Guinea
Mount Adams3,742 m2,473 mCascade RangeUnited States
Musala2,925 m2,473 mRila MountainsBulgaria
Mount Elgon4,321 m2,458 mEast African Rift volcanoesUganda / Kenya
Illimani6,438 m2,451 mCordillera Real, AndesBolivia
Nevado Sajama6,542 m2,428 mCordillera Occidental, AndesBolivia
Grossglockner3,798 m2,424 mHigh Tauern, AlpsAustria
Nun7,135 m2,404 mZanskar RangeIndia
Cotopaxi5,897 m2,404 mAndesEcuador
Thabana Ntlenyana3,482 m2,390 mDrakensberg / Maloti MountainsLesotho
Makalu8,485 m2,386 mMahalangur Himal, HimalayaNepal / China
Galdhøpiggen2,469 m2,372 mJotunheimenNorway
Mount Olympus2,918 m2,355 mOlympus massifGreece
Gerlachovský štít2,655 m2,355 mHigh TatrasSlovakia
Mount Kazbek5,054 m2,353 mGreater CaucasusGeorgia / Russia
Mount Hood3,429 m2,349 mCascade RangeUnited States
Cho Oyu8,188 m2,340 mMahalangur Himal, HimalayaNepal / China
Mount Roraima2,810 m2,338 mPakaraima MountainsVenezuela / Guyana / Brazil
Mount Taranaki2,518 m2,308 mTaranaki volcanic massifNew Zealand
Mount Kosciuszko2,228 m2,228 mSnowy Mountains, Great Dividing RangeAustralia
Mount Foraker5,304 m2,210 mAlaska RangeUnited States
Mount Jackson3,184 m2,187 mWelch Mountains, Antarctic PeninsulaAntarctica
Monte Rosa4,634 m2,165 mPennine AlpsSwitzerland / Italy
Mauna Loa4,169 m2,158 mHawaiian volcanoesUnited States
Gasherbrum I8,080 m2,155 mKarakoramPakistan / China
Nevado Pissis6,793 m2,138 mAndesArgentina
Mount Assiniboine3,618 m2,086 mCanadian RockiesCanada
Cayambe5,790 m2,075 mAndesEcuador
Triglav2,864 m2,052 mJulian AlpsSlovenia
Nevado del Ruiz5,321 m2,035 mCordillera Central, AndesColombia
Noshaq7,492 m2,024 mHindu KushAfghanistan / Pakistan
Grand Teton4,199 m1,990 mTeton RangeUnited States
Chachani6,057 m1,963 mAndesPeru
Fitz Roy3,405 m1,951 mPatagonian AndesArgentina / Chile
Hallasan1,947 m1,947 mJeju volcanic islandSouth Korea
Osorno Volcano2,652 m1,932 mSouthern AndesChile
Mount Jefferson3,199 m1,777 mCascade RangeUnited States
Kebnekaise2,097 m1,763 mScandinavian MountainsSweden
Zugspitze2,962 m1,746 mWetterstein Mountains, AlpsGermany / Austria
Mount Fridtjof Nansen4,070 m1,730 mQueen Maud Mountains, Transantarctic MountainsAntarctica
Broad Peak8,051 m1,701 mKarakoramPakistan / China
Khan Tengri7,010 m1,685 mTian ShanKazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan / China
Antisana5,753 m1,678 mAndesEcuador
Korzhenevskaya Peak7,105 m1,650 mPamir MountainsTajikistan
Mount Aspiring / Tititea3,033 m1,638 mSouthern AlpsNew Zealand
Mount Ossa1,617 m1,617 mCentral HighlandsAustralia
Fansipan3,143 m1,613 mHoang Lien Son RangeVietnam
Mount Kirkpatrick4,528 m1,603 mQueen Alexandra Range, Transantarctic MountainsAntarctica
Villarrica2,847 m1,575 mSouthern AndesChile
Gasherbrum II8,035 m1,524 mKarakoramPakistan / China

How to use this list

Use prominence to understand topographic independence, then use elevation, route context, glaciation and access information to understand the mountain itself. The list deliberately avoids implying that a more prominent mountain is harder to climb.

Open the prominence explorer or read the complete prominence guide.