Fourteen mountains on Earth rise above 8,000 meters. Below the death zone, the rankings get into territory most people guess wrong.
How to Play: Guess if the mountain on the right is HIGHER or LOWER than the one on the left.
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Top 10 Tallest Mountains
Every one of the world’s 14 highest mountains — the Eight-Thousanders — sits in the Himalayas or the adjacent Karakoram range. None are in the Americas, none in Africa, none in Europe.
Outside Asia, the tallest peaks are still impressive — Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro — but they all fall short of 7,000 m. The game mixes Eight-Thousanders with the most famous summits of every other continent.
| # | Name | Height (m) | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Everest | 8,848 | meters |
| 2 | K2 | 8,611 | meters |
| 3 | Kangchenjunga | 8,586 | meters |
| 4 | Lhotse | 8,516 | meters |
| 5 | Makalu | 8,485 | meters |
| 6 | Cho Oyu | 8,188 | meters |
| 7 | Dhaulagiri I | 8,167 | meters |
| 8 | Manaslu | 8,163 | meters |
| 9 | Nanga Parbat | 8,126 | meters |
| 10 | Annapurna I | 8,091 | meters |
How Mountain Height Is Measured
All heights in this game are elevation above mean sea level, the standard for mountaineering tables. Modern figures come from satellite-borne radar (notably the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) refined by GPS surveys placed directly on summits.
Mount Everest’s official height of 8,848 m has been adjusted several times. Nepal and China jointly surveyed the peak in 2020 and announced a revised height of 8,848.86 m, just 86 cm higher than the long-cited 8,848 m. Earlier surveys reached numbers as low as 8,840 m and as high as 8,850 m, depending on whether the snow cap was included.
Two alternative ways of measuring ‘tallest’ produce surprising winners. Measured from base to peak, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller than Everest because more than half its 10,000 m bulk sits below sea level. Measured by distance from the Earth’s center, Chimborazo in Ecuador wins because the planet bulges at the equator. By the standard sea-level metric used here, Everest stays on top.
Climbing the 14 Eight-Thousanders is mountaineering’s most prestigious achievement. As of the mid-2020s, fewer than 50 people have climbed all 14 without supplemental oxygen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall is Mount Everest?
Mount Everest’s officially recognized height, jointly surveyed by Nepal and China in 2020, is 8,848.86 m. The figure most commonly used in rankings rounds to 8,848 m.
Which is taller — K2 or Kangchenjunga?
K2 is taller at 8,611 m versus Kangchenjunga’s 8,586 m. Kangchenjunga held the title of world’s tallest until 1856 because K2 had not yet been measured accurately.
Are there really only 14 mountains over 8,000 m?
Yes. All 14 sit on the boundary of Nepal, China, Pakistan, and India. The Andes, Africa, and North America do not have a single 8,000 m peak.
What is the tallest mountain outside Asia?
Aconcagua in Argentina, at 6,961 m, is the tallest mountain outside Asia and the highest point in the Western and Southern hemispheres.
Note: Heights are elevation above mean sea level in meters, drawn from established mountaineering and survey records. Minor disagreements exist for some peaks within ±1 m.
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