Every continent has a mountain it can call its pinnacle, and across the globe, these highest points differ wildly in climate, makeup, and history. Take a journey across them with this brief tour of all seven.
At a record-shattering 29,029 feet above sea level, the Mahalangur Range's Mount Everest tops all peaks in the world. Located on the border of Nepal and China—in fact, the border runs directly through the summit point—Everest has neighboring peaks that could easily top many highest mountain lists. Everest has proven a popular climbing route, both from Nepal on the southeast side and from the north in Tibet, China.
If you're ranking continents by their highest peaks, South America comes in second with Aconcagua in Argentina and its 22,834-foot summit. As the tallest mountain not in Asia, Aconcagua gets the title of both the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemispheres. Located in the Andes near the border with Chile (but still entirely in Argentina), Aconcagua includes a bevy of glaciers and is surrounded by a valleys that make its height all the more dramatic.
It should come as no surprise that North America's pinnacle point lies in Alaska where Denali, long known as Mount McKinley, stands at 20,310 feet in the Alaska Range. Located in the aptly-named Denali National Park and Preserve in the interior of the state, the summit is not only hight but also one of the most remote mountains in the world.
Arguably with the most poetic of names, this dormant volcano in Tanzania rises above the African Savannah to 19,340 feet. Located in the Kilimanjaro National Park, it once had a bounty of glaciers and ice fields that have since started disappearing, making this an even more attractive climbing destination, as it has been for well over 100 years.
Given that the border between Europe and Asia is the subject to argument and Mount Elbrus is right on it, its true continental allegiance can be debated. But mountain watchers agree this 18,510-foot-tall dormant volcano is in Europe. Located in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia's southern region near Georgia, Elbrus has two peaks that rival each other in height—the taller stands to the west, while the east summit still reaches 18,442 feet.
Reaching a height of 16,066 feet, Vinson Massif, about 750 miles from the South Pole, still has a respectable height compared to others on this list. Only discovered in the 1950s, the mountain lies in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, which has turned into a more popular location for climbers ever since it was first tackled successfully in 1966.
With its highest peak a paltry 7,310 feet, Australia isn't exactly a mountainous wonder. But it remains a continent and, therefore, Mount Kosciuszko makes the list. As part of the Australian Alps National Park and Reserves in New South Wales, the Kosciuszko peak falls within the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains. But while Mount Kosciuszko has always been Australia's tallest, it used to be a different mountain.
The original Mount Kosciuszko was believed to be the continent's tallest until the late 1800s when new measurements that showed nearby Mount Townsend was actually taller. So, to keep the name of the tallest peak the same, officials swapped the names, ensuring that Mount Kosciuszko remains atop Australia's list, even if it was originally dubbed Mount Townsend.