You would think this is easy to figure out. But no one agrees – mainly because there is disagreement over the actual continental bounds. So it is more like the tallest 10 summits.
I thought this made an interesting map, but I wanted to do a modern twist on a classic. The tallest peaks have been drawn many times, side-by-side, showing how they compare. But I had never seen them side-by-side in 3D. So again, with help from the 3D team at Esri, I attempted to put the mountains in one scene right next to one another.
The Summits
8,894 m
Everest (Asia)
6,661 m
Aconcagua (South America)
6,194 m
Denali (North America)
5,895 m
Kilimanjaro (Africa)
5,642 m
Elbrus (Europe)
4,892 m
Vinson (Antarctica)
4,810 m
Mont Blanc (Europe)
4,205 m
Mauna Kea (Pacific Tectonic Plate)
2,228 m
Kosciuszko (Australia)
Overview
This is one of those projects that required a whole lot of research and then a whole lot of learning. I had to do things in 3D that I had never tried before. There are a couple of things that I would like to change, but that is half the fun. Sometimes you have to know when enough is enough and when to move on to the next. This map along with the Trees of Life, I consider companions.
This is another one of those maps that I delivered in various forms. At the time, I thought a storymap would be the best delivery vehicle. In the story, I created some simple graphics (which you can see below) to show the location of the mountains. I thought a simple graphic complimented the 3D maps.
Everest
8,848 m
World’s tallest mountain
By any definition, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Asia
Aconcagua
6,961 m
Tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere
By any definition, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents South America
Denali
6,194 m
Formerly named McKinley
By any definition, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents North America
Kilimanjaro
5,895 m
Its snow caps have nearly vanished
By any definition, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Africa
Elbrus
5,642 m
Perched in the Caucasus Mountains
Depending on the definition of Europe, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Europe
Vinson
4,892 m
First seen in 1958
By any definition, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Antarctica
Puncak Jaya
4,884 m
Located on the island of New Guinea
Depending on the definition of Australia/Australasia, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents the Australian Plate
Mauna Kea
4,205 m
Not typically considered one of the 7 summits
Considered the tallest mountain on the Pacific tectonic Plate (there are 7 major plates)
Represents the Pacific Plate
Mont Blanc
4,810 m
Tallest mountain in the Alps
Depending on the definition of Europe, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Europe
Kosciuszko
2,228 m
Once named Mount Townsend
Depending on the definition of Australia/Australasia, one of the world’s 7 summits
Represents Australia