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, major mountain peaks, and even submarine summits. Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, has an undefined isolation, since there is no higher point 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).Nearest higher neighbour in glossary on www.peakbagger.com
Isolation table The following sortable table lists Earth's 40 most topographically isolated summits. +The 40 most topographically isolated summits on EarthRankSummitLandmassCountryElevationProminenceIsolationNearest higher neighbour1Mount EverestEurasian/a2AconcaguaSouth America (Mendoza)Tirich Mir (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan)3DenaliNorth America (Alaska)Yanamax (Xinjiang, China)4KilimanjaroAfricaKuh-e Shashgal (Afghanistan)5Puncak JayaNew Guinea (Central Papua)Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yunnan, China)6Vinson MassifAntarcticaRisco Plateado (Mendoza, Argentina)7Mont OrohenaTahitiMount Ngauruhoe (New Zealand)8Mauna KeaHawai'i (Hawai'i)Mount Shasta (California, US)9Gunnbjørn FjeldGreenlandThe Eiger (Canton of Bern, Switzerland)10Aoraki / Mount CookSouth IslandMount Adam (Victoria Land, Antarctica)11Thabana NtlenyanaAfricaMount Meru (Tanzania)12Maunga TerevakaEaster IslandCerro de Los Inocentes (Alejandro Selkirk Island, Chile)13Mont BlancEurasiaKukurtlu Dome (Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia)14Piton des NeigesRéunionGiant's Castle (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)15Klyuchevskaya SopkaEurasia (Kamchatka)Mount Foraker (Alaska, US)16Pico de OrizabaNorth America (Puebla)Pico Cristóbal Colón (Magdalena Department, Colombia)17Queen Mary's PeakTristan da CunhaMount Paget (South Georgia Island, British Overseas Territories)18Mount WhitneyNorth America (California)Nevado de Toluca (State of Mexico, Mexico)19Gunung KinabaluBorneo (Sabah)Ngga Pilimsit (Papua, Indonesia)20Mount ElbrusEurasia (Kabardino-Balkaria)Pik Agasis (Tajikistan)21Pico da BandeiraSouth America (Espírito Santo) (Bolivia)22Mont CamerounAfricaMikeno (Democratic Republic of the Congo)23Mount PagetSouth GeorgiaWelch Mountains (Palmer Land, Antarctica)24Mauga SilisiliSavai'iTabwemasana (Vanuatu)25Nevado HuascaránSouth AmericaTres Cruces (Chile/Argentina border)26AnamudiEurasia (Kerala)Machapuchare (Nepal)27Jebel ToubkalAfricaPicco Luigi Amedeo (Italy)28Mount FujiHonshu (Chūbu)Xueshan (Taiwan)29Emi KoussiAfricaMount Cameroon (Cameroon)30Mawson PeakHeard Island (Heard and McDonald Islands)Mount McMaster (Enderby Land, Antarctica)31Mount MitchellNorth America (North Carolina)Lone Butte (Colorado, US)32Gunung KerinciSumatra (West Sumatra)Gunung Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia)33Joe's HillKiritimatiPuu Ki (Hawaii, US)34Agrihan High PointAgrihanMount Amagi (Chūbu, Japan)35Mount KosciuszkoAustralia (New South Wales)Tutoko (New Zealand)36OlavtoppenBouvet IslandEdinburgh Peak (Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean)37Mascarin PeakMarion Island (Prince Edward Islands)Cockscomb (Eastern Cape, South Africa)38Green MountainAscension IslandMount Richard-Molard (Ivory Coast/Guinea border)39Gora NarodnayaEurasia (Khanty-Mansi)Kattotjåkkå (Sweden)40YushanTaiwanPeak 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. Kukurtlu Dome, , 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.
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
References
External links bivouac.com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia peakbagger.com peaklist.org peakware.com World Mountain Encyclopedia summitpost.org