An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

with a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or from sea level if there is no higher peak. There are approximately 1,524 such peaks on Earth. Some well-known peaks, such as the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

and

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that exten ...

, are not Ultras because they are connected to higher mountains by high

col In geomorphology, a col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. . It may also be called a gap. Particularly rugged and forbidding co ...

s and therefore do not achieve enough topographic prominence. The term "Ultra" originated with earth scientist Steve Fry, from his studies of the prominence of peaks in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the 1980s. His original term was "ultra major mountain", referring to peaks with at least of prominence.

Distribution

Currently, 1,518 Ultras have been identified above sea level: 639 in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, 356 in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, 209 in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, 120 in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(including 12 in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

), 84 in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, 69 in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

, and 41 in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. Many of the world's largest mountains are Ultras, including

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...

, K2,

Kanchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the ...

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

, and

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

. On the other hand, others such as the

and the

are not Ultras because they do not have sufficient prominence. Many Ultras lie in rarely visited and inhospitable parts of the world, including 39 in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

, the high points of the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

islands of

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger ...

and

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Nor ...

, and many of the peaks of the Greater ranges of Asia. In

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, some of the mountains listed do not even have generally recognized names. Thirteen of the fourteen 8,000-metre summits are Ultras (the exception being

Lhotse Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...

), and there are a further 64 Ultras over in height. There are 90 Ultras with a prominence of over , but only 22 with more than prominence. A number of Ultras have yet to be climbed, with

Sauyr Zhotasy Sauyr Zhotasy ( kk, Сауыр жотасы, ''Sauyr jotasy''), also known as Muz Tau (), at 3,840 m is the highest point in the Saur Range and of the entire Saur- Tarbagatai mountain system, part of the Tien Shan, on the border between Kazakhsta ...

, (possibly) Mount Siple, and Gangkar Puensum being the most likely candidates for the most prominent unclimbed mountain in the world. (See footnotes 3 and 10.) All of the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits ...

are Ultras by virtue of the fact that they are the high points of large landmasses. Each has its

key col In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

at or near sea level, resulting in a prominence value almost equal to its elevation.

Lists of Ultras (1518)

General

List of islands by highest point This is a list of islands in the world ordered by their highest point; it lists islands with peaks by elevation. At the end of this article continental landmasses are also included for comparison. Island countries and territories listed are tho ...

gives the 75 highest island highpoints, all of which are Ultras * List of mountain peaks by prominence gives the 125 most prominent peaks worldwide.

Africa (84)

* List of Ultras of Africa (84)

Antarctica (41)

List of Ultras of Antarctica This is a list of all the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Antarctica. Some islands in the South Atlantic have also been included and can be found at the end of the list. Antarctica South At ...

, including South Atlantic islands (41)

Asia (639)

List of Ultras of Central Asia This is a list of the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Central Asia. The list is divided topographically rather than politically. There are 75 in total; 21 in the Pamirs, 1 in the Karakum, 5 in the Al ...

(75) *

List of Ultras of Japan This is a list of all the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Japan. See also *List of mountains in Japan The following is a list of the mountains and hills of Japan, ordered by height. Mount ...

(21) *

List of ultras of Northeast Asia This is a list of all the ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Northeast Asia. There are 53 in total. Baikal to Okhotsk Eastern Siberia Kamchatka Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kur ...

(53) *

List of Ultras of Southeast Asia This is a list of all the ultra-prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Mainland Southeast Asia. All values below are given in metres. Patkai-Chin Hills Indo-Malayan System Malay Peninsula Annamite Ra ...

(42) * List of Ultras of the Himalayas, including Sino-Nepal Provinces (76) * List of Ultras of the Karakoram and Hindu Kush (61) *

List of Ultras of the Malay Archipelago This is a list of ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in the Malay Archipelago, a group of over 25,000 islands which includes Brunei, Singapore, East Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor. H ...

(92, including 12 in

) *

List of Ultras of the Philippines This is a list of all the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 meters) in the Philippines. See also * List of mountains in the Philippines Sources ListMap {{Geography of the Philippines, state=expanded *Ultra ...

(31) *

List of Ultras of Tibet, East Asia and neighbouring areas This is a list of all the Ultra prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Tibet, China, East Asia and neighbouring areas of Burma and India, including South India and Sri Lanka. Kunlun Mountains and Northeastern Ti ...

, including India (112) * List of Ultras of West Asia (88)

Europe (120)

List of Alpine peaks by prominence This is a list of the mountains of the Alps, ordered by their topographic prominence. For a list by height, see the list of mountains of the Alps. By descending to 1,500 m of prominence, this list includes all the Ultras of the Alps. Some famous ...

(44) * List of European ultra-prominent peaks (76), including non-Alpine European Ultras (60), the Atlantic islands (6), and the European

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

(10) **

List of the highest European ultra-prominent peaks This is a list of all the mountains in Europe with ultra-prominent peaks with topographic prominence greater than . The column "Col" denotes the highest elevation to which one must descend from a peak in order to reach peaks with higher elevation ...

(33)

North America (356)

List of Ultras of North America The following sortable tables comprise the most topographically prominent mountain peaks of greater North America. Each of these 353 summits has at least of topographic prominence. This article defines greater North America as the portion ...

(356) **

List of the most prominent summits of Canada The following sortable table comprises the 150 most topographically prominent mountain peaks of Canada. The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: #The topographic elevation of a summit measures the height ...

(143, including 6 bordering the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

) ** List of the most prominent summits of the United States (129, including 6 in

and 6 bordering

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

) *** List of Ultras in Alaska (65, including 4 bordering

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and 2 bordering

) ** List of Ultras of Central America (23) ** List of Ultras of Greenland (39) **

List of Ultras of Mexico The following sortable table comprises the 26 ultra-prominent summits of México. Each of these peaks has at least of topographic prominence.This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and ...

(27) **

List of Ultras of the Caribbean The following sortable table comprises the seven ultra-prominent summits on the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Each of these peaks has at least of topographic prominence. Five of these peaks rise on the island of Hispaniola (three in the Do ...

(7)

Oceania (69)

* List of Ultras of Oceania, including the southern Indian Ocean (69) ** List of Ultras of Australia (2) ** List of Ultras of New Zealand (10) ** List of Ultras of Papua New Guinea (31) ** List of Ultras of the Hawaiian Islands (6) ** List of Ultras of the Pacific Islands (6) ** List of Ultras of the southern Indian Ocean (2) ** List of Ultras of Western New Guinea (Indonesia) (12)

South America (209)

List of Ultras of South America This is a list of the 209 ultra prominent peaks, or Ultras in South America. An ''Ultra'' is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more. Guiana Highlands Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Cordillera Oriental, Cordillera de M ...

(209)

References

{{Lists of Ultras Mountains Topography Ultra