ACONCAGUA

Aconcagua (Spanish pronunciation: [akoŋˈkaɣwa]) is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes Mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. with a summit elevation of 22,838 feet. It lies 70 miles northwest of the provincial capital, the city of Mendoza, about 3 miles from San Juan Province, and 9 miles from Argentina's border with Chile.  Aconcagua also has the greatest isolation of all mountains. There is no higher land for 10,273 miles when its height is first exceeded by Tirich Mir in the Hindu Kush.

CHISUMLE-DEMCHOK ROAD AKA UMLING LA ROAD

 

In 2017 Chisumle-Demchok Road was constructed in Ladakh, India between Chisumle and Demchok villages passing through Umling Pass in the Himalaya Mountains. As the road ascends to a height of 19,300 feet in the vicinity of Umling Pass, it becomes the world’s highest motorable road.  Of note is that Chisumle-Demchok Road is at an altitude that is higher than the Mount Everest Base Camp.

OJOS DEL SALADO

 

Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth, the highest peak in Chile and the second-highest summit of the Andes.  The complex extends over an area of 27–62 square miles and its highest summit reaches an altitude of 22,615 feet above sea level.  Ojos del Salado hosts the highest lake in the world in the form of the unnamed crater lake in the summit crater. It lies at 21,260–21,330 feet elevation and covers an area of 65,000 square feet. Waters in a creek flowing into this lake reach temperatures 105.4 °F.  On April 21, 2007, the Chilean duo of Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales Moya, driving a modified Suzuki Samuri, reached an altitude of 21,942 feet on Ojos del Saldo, thus setting the high-altitude record for a four-wheeled (land) vehicle.

Ojos del Salado on the Argentina-Chile border, the world's highest volcano at 22,615 feet

MOUNT EVANS SCENIC BYWAY

Reaching a final elevation of 14,130 feet, the Mount Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America. The byway begins at the Idaho Springs Visitor Center and ends near the summit of Mount Evans. The byway is 28 miles in length and gains over 7,000 feet of elevation.

The Mount Evans Scenic Byway approaching the summit

By Ken Gallager - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1306716

GRAND MESA

The Grand Mesa, located in western Colorado, is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. Grand Mesa has an area of about 500 square miles and stretches for about 40 miles east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunnison river. The mesa rises about 6,000 feet above the surrounding river valleys, including the Grand Valley to the west, reaching an elevation of about 11,000 feet.

A panoramic view of the Grand Mesa, with Mt. Garfield and the Book Cliffs visible on the left
By Tewy - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2553591

THE LONGEST SIGHTLINE ON EARTH

In standard atmospheric conditions, for an observer with eye level above sea level of 5 feet 7 inches, the horizon distance is about 3.1 miles. The variables that go into determining the longest possible sightline are; height of the observer, height of the object being observed, air temperature and clear line of sight. The longest theoretical sightline on earth 334 miles, from Mt. Dankova in Krgyzstan to Hindu Tagh in China. The furthest photographed sightline in the world in the world is 275 miles from Pic de Finestrelles in the Spanish Pyrenees to Pic Gaspard in the French Alps.

Travelling the longest sightline on earth at 32 times the speed of sound. Total distance of 443 km, from Pic de Finestrelles in the Spanish Pyrenees to Pic Gaspard in the French Alps

MOUNT WHCHEPROOF - SMALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD

The smallest mountain in the world is the little-known Mount Wycheproof at 141 feet above the surrounding terrain. However, the mountain stands 486 feet above the sea level. The mountain is located in Terrick Terrick Range in Australia. The range is in the small town of Wycheproof, Victoria. It can also be said that the town is located on the summit of the mountain. Wycheproof has a population of approximately 789 people.

MOUNT WYCHEPROOF

LA RINOCANADA, PERU - HIGHEST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT IN THE WORLD

La Rinconada is a town in the Peruvian Andes near a gold mine. At 16,700 feet (3.2 miles) above sea level, it is the highest permanent settlement in the world. Between 2001 and 2009, the population increased to 30,000 people from just a small gold prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% over that period.

The town of La Rinconada in the Peruvian Andes

MOUNT CHIMBORAZO

Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Andes. With a peak elevation of 20,548 feet, Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador. Chimborazo is not the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, but its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center, as well as the point on earth closest to the moon. Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was thought that Chimborazo was the highest mountain on earth (measured from seal level).

MOUNT CHIMBORAZO

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

The largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington is Spokane. The largest river in the county is the Spokane River. The tallest mountain in the county is Mt. Spokane. The city of Spokane was built along the Spokane Falls. The largest suburb is Spokane Valley. The largest lake in the county is Long Lake, alternatively known as Spokane Lake.

MOUNT THOR

Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak, is a mountain with an elevation of 5,495 feet located in Auyuittug National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

Mount Thor features Earth’s greatest vertical drop of 4,101 feet with the cliff overhanging at an average angle of 15 degrees from vertical.