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).
Isolation table The following sortable table lists Earth's 40 most topographically isolated summits.
Examples The nearest peak to Germany's highest mountain, the 2,962-metre (9,718 ft) high Zugspitze, that has a 2,962-metre (9,718 ft) contour is the 2,988-metre (9,803 ft) Zwölferkogel in Austria's Stubai Alps. The distance between the Zugspitze and this contour is 25.8 kilometres (16 mi); the Zugspitze is thus the highest peak for a radius of 25.8 kilometres (16 mi). Its isolation is thus 25.8 kilometres (16 mi). 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 16,534 kilometres (10,274 mi). 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, 4,978 metres (16,332 ft), 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 2,473 metres (8,114 ft), 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