Ultra-prominent peak

Map of Ultras worldwide

An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is defined as a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) or more. There are approximately 1,524 such peaks on Earth.[1] Some peaks, such as the Matterhorn and Eiger, are not Ultras because they are connected to higher mountains by high cols and therefore do not achieve enough topographic prominence.

The term "Ultra" originated with earth scientist Stephen Fry, from his studies of the prominence of peaks in Washington in the 1980s. His original term was "ultra major mountain", referring to peaks with at least 5,000 ft (1,524 m) of prominence.[2]

Distribution

Currently, 1,515 Ultras have been identified worldwide: 637 in Asia, 355 in North America, 209 in South America, 119 in Europe (including the Caucasus), 84 in Africa, 69 in Australasia and 39 in Antarctica.[1]

Many of the world's largest mountains are Ultras, including Mount Everest, K2, Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, and Mount Olympus. On the other hand, others such as the Eiger and the Matterhorn 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, the high points of the Arctic islands of Novaya Zemlya, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen, and many of the peaks of the Greater ranges of Asia. In British Columbia, some of the mountains listed do not even have generally recognized names.

13 of the 14 8,000m summits are Ultras (the exception being Lhotse), and there are a further 64 Ultras over 7,000m in height. There are 90 Ultras with a prominence of over 3,000m, but only 22 with more than 4,000m prominence.

A number of Ultras have yet to be climbed, with Sauyr Zhotasy, (possibly) Mount Siple, and Gangkar Puensum being the most likely candidates for the most prominent unclimbed mountain in the world.[2][3]

All of the Seven Summits are Ultras by virtue of the fact that they are the high points of large landmasses. Each has its key col at or near sea level, resulting in a prominence value almost equal to its elevation.

Lists of Ultras (1515)

General

Europe (119)

Asia (637)

Africa (84)

Oceania (69)

Antarctica (41)

North America (355)

The summit of Mount Logan in the Yukon, the highest point in Canada, is ranked sixth in the world by topographic prominence.

South America (209)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Maizlish, A. "The Ultra-Prominences Page". Peaklist.org.
  2. 1 2 Helman, Adam (2005). The Finest Peaks: Prominence and other Mountain Measures. Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-5994-1.
  3. ↑ Maizlish, A. "Antarctic Ultra-Prominent Summits". Peaklist.org. (See footnotes 3 and 10.)
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