Topographic isolation

File:Topographic isolation and prominence.svg

Topographic isolation and prominence
A - Nearest higher neighbour

The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum horizontal 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.

Because topographic isolation can be difficult to determine, a common approximation is the distance to a peak called the nearest higher neighbour (NHN).

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 (Mount McKinley)	North America	(Alaska)	Yanamax (Xinjiang, China)
4	Kilimanjaro	Africa		Kuh-e Shashgal (Afghanistan)
5	Puncak Jaya	New Guinea	(Central 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		Template:Ill (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)	Template:Ill (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)	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 high Zugspitze, that has a contour is the Zwölferkogel in Austria's Stubai Alps. The distance between the Zugspitze and this contour is ; the Zugspitze is thus the highest peak for a radius of . Its isolation is thus .
• 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 . 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. Template:Ill, , 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. With a topographic prominence of , Musala is also the sixth-highest peak by topographic prominence in mainland Europe.

Gallery

• 1. Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak on Earth.
  1. Mount Everest is the highest mountain peak on Earth.
• 2. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Southern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere.
  2. Aconcagua is the highest peak in both the Southern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere.
• 3. Denali is the highest peak of North America.
  3. Denali is the highest peak of North America.
• 4. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak of Africa.
  4. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak of Africa.
• 5. Puncak Jaya on New Guinea is the highest peak on any ocean island.
  5. Puncak Jaya on New Guinea is the highest peak on any ocean island.
• 6. The Vinson Massif is the highest peak of Antarctica.
  6. The Vinson Massif is the highest peak of Antarctica.
• 7. Mont Orohena on Tahiti is the highest peak of French Polynesia.
  7. Mont Orohena on Tahiti is the highest peak of French Polynesia.
• 8. Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaiʻi is the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base on seafloor to summit.
  8. Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaiʻi is the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base on seafloor to summit.
• 9. Gunnbjørn Fjeld on Greenland is the highest peak of the Arctic.
  9. Gunnbjørn Fjeld on Greenland is the highest peak of the Arctic.
• 10. Aoraki, or Mount Cook, on the South Island is the highest peak in New Zealand.
  10. Aoraki, or Mount Cook, on the South Island is the highest peak in New Zealand.
• 11. Thabana Ntlenyana in Lesotho is the highest point in southern Africa.
  11. Thabana Ntlenyana in Lesotho is the highest point in southern Africa.
• 12. Ma′unga Terevaka is the highest point on Easter Island.
  12. Ma′unga Terevaka is the highest point on Easter Island.
• 13. Mont Blanc is the highest peak of Western Europe.
  13. Mont Blanc is the highest peak of Western Europe.
• 14. Piton des Neiges is the apex of Réunion.
  14. Piton des Neiges is the apex of Réunion.
• 15. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest peak of Kamchatka.
  15. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the highest peak of Kamchatka.
• 16. Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak of Mexico.
  16. Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak of Mexico.
• 17. Queen Mary's Peak is the highest point on the Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.
  17. Queen Mary's Peak is the highest point on the Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha.
• 18. Mount Whitney is the highest peak of the contiguous United States.
  18. Mount Whitney is the highest peak of the contiguous United States.
• 19. Gunung Kinabalu is the apex of Borneo.
  19. Gunung Kinabalu is the apex of Borneo.
• 20. Mount Elbrus is the highest peak of Europe.
  20. Mount Elbrus is the highest peak of Europe.
• 21. Pico da Bandeira is the third highest peak of Brazil.
  21. Pico da Bandeira is the third highest peak of Brazil.
• 22. Mount Cameroon is the highest peak of Cameroon.
  22. Mount Cameroon is the highest peak of Cameroon.
• 23. Mount Paget on South Georgia is the highest peak in the South Atlantic Ocean.
  23. Mount Paget on South Georgia is the highest peak in the South Atlantic Ocean.

See also

• Most isolated major summits of Europe
• Table of the most isolated major summits of North America
  • Table of the most isolated major summits of the United States
  • Most isolated mountain peaks of Canada
  • Most isolated mountain peaks of Mexico
• Geodesy
• Physical geography
• Summit (topography)
• Topographic elevation
• Topographic prominence
• Topography

External links

• bivouac.com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia
• peakbagger.com
• peaklist.org
• peakware.com World Mountain Encyclopedia
• summitpost.org