On 29 May 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary stood on the summit of Mount Everest. Everest gets the fame, but the bigger surprise is around it: every one of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres is in just two neighbouring ranges in Asia. Mountains come in ranges, and each range has its own story of how it rose and how high it got.
Here are the great ranges continent by continent, with the highest peak in each. Heights are rounded, because surveys disagree by a few metres and snow caps change.
How mountain ranges form
Most of the big ranges are fold mountains: two plates of the Earth's crust push together and the rock between them buckles upwards. The Himalayas rose as the Indian plate pushed into the Eurasian plate, and that collision is still going on. The Alps formed in a similar way as Africa pressed towards Europe.
Age matters too. Young ranges like the Himalayas and Alps are high and jagged. Old ranges such as the Appalachians and the Urals have been worn down for hundreds of millions of years, so they're lower and rounder.
Asia: the roof of the world
- Himalayas: 10 of the 14 peaks over 8,000 m, including Everest. The name comes from Sanskrit for "abode of snow".
- Karakoram: the other 4, including K2 (about 8,611 m), the second-highest mountain on Earth.
- Hindu Kush: mostly in Afghanistan, reaching about 7,700 m at Tirich Mir in Pakistan.
The Americas
- Andes: through seven countries from Venezuela to Argentina. Aconcagua (about 6,960 m) is the highest mountain outside Asia.
- Rocky Mountains: from Canada to New Mexico, topping out at Mount Elbert in Colorado (about 4,400 m).
- Alaska Range: home of Denali (about 6,190 m), North America's highest peak. The US federal government renamed it Mount McKinley in 2025; the state of Alaska still uses Denali.
- Appalachians: an old range in the east, highest at Mount Mitchell (about 2,040 m).
Europe and Africa
- Alps: eight countries, from France to Slovenia. Mont Blanc (about 4,800 m) is the highest peak. Its summit is also a long-running border question: France places the top inside France, while Italy holds that the border runs over the summit.
- Pyrenees: between France and Spain, with Andorra tucked between them in the east of the range.
- Carpathians, Scandinavian Mountains and Urals: lower ranges, none much above 2,650 m.
- Caucasus: between the Black and Caspian seas. Its Mount Elbrus (about 5,640 m) is Europe's highest mountain if the Europe–Asia border runs along the Caucasus crest, which puts Elbrus on the European side; draw the border so Elbrus falls in Asia and the title goes to Mont Blanc.
- Atlas Mountains: across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, highest at Toubkal (about 4,170 m). Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, isn't in a long range at all: it's a free-standing volcano in Tanzania.
Australia, Antarctica and the sea floor
The Great Dividing Range runs down eastern Australia, highest at Mount Kosciuszko (about 2,230 m). The Transantarctic Mountains split Antarctica in two, though the continent's highest peak, Vinson Massif, is in a different range.
The longest range of all is underwater. The mid-ocean ridge system winds through the oceans for over 60,000 km, far longer than the Andes. It breaks the surface in Iceland.
Easy ones to mix up
- Himalayas and Karakoram. Everest is in the Himalayas; K2 is not.
- Rockies and Alaska Range. North America's highest peak isn't in the Rockies.
- Atlas and Kilimanjaro. Africa's most famous range doesn't hold its highest mountain.
- Mont Blanc and Elbrus. "Highest in Europe" depends on where you put the Europe–Asia border.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest mountain range in the world?
On land, the Himalayas are the highest range and the Andes the longest. Counting the sea floor, the mid-ocean ridge system is longer than any range on land.
Is K2 in the Himalayas?
No. K2 is in the Karakoram, a separate range to the northwest, though people often lump the two together.
What is the highest mountain in Europe?
Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, if the Europe–Asia border follows the Caucasus crest. If Elbrus counts as Asian, it's Mont Blanc in the Alps.
What are the Seven Summits?
The highest peak on each of the seven continents. Lists differ for Europe and for Australia or Oceania.
Try it
Before you flip each card, name the range's continent and guess its highest peak. Then open a map: where in the world does a mountain range rise out of the sea and carry a whole country on its back?