What is the biggest altitude difference between two points visible from each other and where are they?
People who have been to Geneva surely have admired the view of Mont Blanc. On clear days it is possible to see the mountain which is 70 km away and more than 4000 m higher than the city. (To be honest, I don't know whether one can actually see the peak but it's not too relevant.)
This motivates the question: What's the biggest altitude difference between two points on earth which are visible from each other and where are they?
I'd prefer if the two places are actually really visible from each other, so please at least indicate in your answers if
- one of the places is covered in smog or clouds most of the year or
- one point only appears as a small glimmer on the horizon from the other.
Of course there's no clear line between passing and not passing these criteria, but I hope that's okay. I tried to find an answer on the internet and this site but without any success. Maybe I used the wrong keywords.
Best Answer
Aconcagua, Chile - 6,962m, visible from the Pacific Ocean. Is the highest peak outside of Asia, and less than 150km from the coast.
See also this forum thread Mountains near the Ocean which lists both mountains closest to the ocean, and also tallest mountains visible from the ocean.
Pictures about "What is the biggest altitude difference between two points visible from each other and where are they?"
Which country has the greatest altitude difference in the world?
Supersized Elevation Span: China has the the largest elevation span of any country on Earth. The average elevation of the country skews high, thanks in part to the Tibetan Plateau.Which place has the highest elevation above sea level?
Mount Everest's peak is the highest altitude above mean sea level at 29,029 feet [8,848 meters]. Mount Chimborazo's peak is the furthest point on Earth from Earth's center. The summit is over 6,800 feet [2,072 meters] farther from Earth's center than Mount Everest's summit.What is the difference between altitude and elevation?
The elevation of an object is it's height above sea level. Sometimes elevation and altitude are using interchangeable, however, altitude is the vertical distance between an object and the earth's surface.Altitude vs. Elevation | When to Use Each, How to Tell The Difference, Word Versus Word
More answers regarding what is the biggest altitude difference between two points visible from each other and where are they?
Answer 2
You can see Kangchenjunga's peak, at 8,586 m above MSL, from the top of Durpin Hill near Kalimpong, at 1,372 m. That's a difference of 7,214 m.
I have a picture of this somewhere which I'll attach if I find it.
Answer 3
I'll nominate Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley), whose summit (6190 meters) can be seen from sea level at Anchorage, Alaska on a clear day. Here's a blog with such a picture posted:
From what I can gather, such views don't happen every day as the peak of Denali is often in or above the clouds; but they're not ridiculously rare either.
Answer 4
Candidates would be...
In Asia/World: Mount Everest, visible from Tiger Hill. 6258 meter altitude difference. Mount Kangchenjunga is visible more prominently from the same hill, for a 5996 meter difference.
In Europe: Mount Elbrus, visible from nearby village. 4192 meter altitude difference. Also consider Mount Ararat, visible from Yerevan. 4147 meter altitude difference.
- In North America: Mount McKinley, visible from Wonder Lake. 5580 meter altitude difference. As stated in the answer below it is also visible from Anchorage on clear days, for a 6190 meter difference.
- In Africa: Mount Kilimanjaro, visible from Himo, Tanzania. 5054 meter altitude difference.
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Answer 5
If you want to check if a mountain will get in the way between two points, then this site is handy. It is intended to be used to check line-of-sight for transmitters. It shows a side-elevation from the transmitter, with a high above the ground, and a line descending to the ground at the given second point.
https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/
Edit: I'm not sure it takes account of the curvature of the Earth.
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Images: Muhammad Rayhan Haripriatna, RODNAE Productions, RODNAE Productions, Pavel Danilyuk