EarthMapped Mountain ranges
World map of mountain ranges, high peaks and convergent plate boundariesGreat Dividing RangeAlpsTian ShanUral MountainsCaucasus MountainsHimalayasAndesRocky MountainsTransantarctic Mountains

Mountain Ranges Map

A mountain ranges map shows where Earth's long chains of mountains run. This one draws 214 ranges from Natural Earth, with 25 of the highest peaks and the convergent plate boundaries that raised most of them.

  • Mountain building. The folding and uplift of crust into mountain ranges, mostly where plates converge and one plate is pushed into or under another. Source
  • Convergent boundary. Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source

Data source: Natural Earth 1:10m geography regions and elevation points, v5.0.0, public domain. Download: GeoJSON , peaks CSV .

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What the map shows

Brown shapes are the mountain ranges Mountain building. The folding and uplift of crust into mountain ranges, mostly where plates converge and one plate is pushed into or under another. Source in Natural Earth's geography regions, from the Himalayas to small coastal chains. Dark dots mark the 25 highest peaks in its elevation points. Blue lines are the convergent boundaries Convergent boundary. Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source of the PB2002 plate model, where plates push together. Tap a range to see its highest peak and open the page of the plate it sits on.

Key facts

  1. Mount Everest is the highest point in the Natural Earth elevation points, at 8,848 m. 5 of its 633 mountain points rise above 8,000 m, all in Asia. Natural Earth
  2. India collided with Asia about 40 to 50 million years ago. The collision raised the Himalayas, which still rise more than 1 cm a year. USGS, The Himalayas: two continents collide
  3. The Himalayas stretch about 2,900 km along the border between India and Tibet. USGS, The Himalayas: two continents collide
  4. The Andes rise where the oceanic Nazca Plate is pushed into and under the South American Plate. USGS, Understanding plate motions
  5. The Andes cover the largest area of any range polygon in the data: 3,055,701 km². Natural Earth
  6. 11 of the 20 ranges with the highest peaks lie within 300 km of a convergent boundary in the PB2002 plate model. Bird (2003)

The great mountain belts and their plates

Himalayas. The 474,732 km² Himalaya polygon lies 12 km from the boundary between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. USGS describes it as a collision of two continents that buckled the crust and pushed it up.

Andes. The Andes run the length of South America. Their highest peak here is Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,959 m. The Nazca Plate subducts under the South American Plate along their west side; see the subduction zones map.

Rockies, Alps and ranges far from a boundary. The Rocky Mountains sit inside the North American Plate, 510 km from the nearest convergent boundary today. The Alps lie on the Eurasian Plate, 622 km from the PB2002 boundary with the African Plate. The Urals (1,878 km) and the Appalachians (1,994 km) are far from any convergent boundary drawn today.

Mountain ranges by highest peak

The 30 ranges with the highest Natural Earth peak inside them. Plates are the one under the range plus both sides of any convergent boundary within 400 km. Sort by any column.

Mountain ranges, highest peak, area and plates
RangeRegionHighest peakHeight (m)Area (km²)PlatesConvergent boundary (km)
Himalayas Asia Mount Everest 8,848 474,732 Eurasian Plate, Indian Plate 12
Karakoram Asia K2 8,611 112,389 Eurasian Plate, Indian Plate 244
Hindu Kush Asia Nanga Parbat 8,125 240,338 Eurasian Plate, Indian Plate 5
Pamir mountains Asia Kongkoerh 7,649 98,688 Eurasian Plate, Indian Plate 302
Tian Shan Asia Pik Pobeda 7,439 415,288 Eurasian Plate 593
Kunlun Mountains Asia Liushi Shan 7,167 296,612 Eurasian Plate 480
Andes South America Cerro Aconcagua 6,959 3,055,701 Altiplano Plate, Nazca Plate, South American Plate, North Andes Plate, Caribbean Plate 69
Cordillera Blanca South America Nevado Huascarán 6,768 248,677 South American Plate, Nazca Plate, Altiplano Plate 132
Cordillera Occidental South America Nevado Sajama 6,542 168,887 Altiplano Plate, Nazca Plate, South American Plate 133
Cordillera Oriental South America Nevado Auzangate 6,372 448,914 Altiplano Plate, South American Plate, North Andes Plate, Nazca Plate 7
Alaska Range North America Denali 6,194 106,235 North American Plate, Pacific Plate 253
Qilian Mountains Asia Kangze'gyai 5,808 184,046 Eurasian Plate 906
Caucasus Mountains Europe Gora Elbrus 5,642 156,122 Eurasian Plate 419
Sierra Madre del Sur North America Pico de Orizaba 5,636 292,586 North American Plate, Cocos Plate, Rivera Plate 39
Elburz Mountains Asia Mount Damavand 5,610 58,459 Eurasian Plate, Arabian Plate 385
Wrangell Mountains North America Mount Blackburn 4,996 25,864 North American Plate, Pacific Plate 116
Cordillera de Mérida South America Pico Bolívar 4,980 55,944 North Andes Plate, South American Plate, Caribbean Plate 17
Rwenzori Mountains Africa Mount Stanley 4,979 6,173 African Plate 2,441
Mitumba Mountains Africa Mount Stanley 4,979 65,027 African Plate 1,848
Ellsworth Mountains Antarctica Vinson Massif 4,892 43,377 Antarctic Plate 1,820
Maoke Mountains Oceania Puncak Jaya 4,884 69,422 Maoke Plate, Caroline Plate, Woodlark Plate, Birds Head Plate 4
New Guinea Highlands Oceania Puncak Jaya 4,884 222,343 Woodlark Plate, Solomon Sea Plate, Australian Plate, Caroline Plate 7
Alps Europe Mont Blanc 4,807 176,302 Eurasian Plate 622
Alataw Mountains Asia Köketau 4,622 64,401 Eurasian Plate 1,141
Zagros Mountains Asia Zard Kuh 4,548 243,848 Eurasian Plate, Arabian Plate 3
Ethiopian Highlands Africa Ras Dejen 4,533 662,401 African Plate 1,558
Queen Alexandra Range Antarctica Mount Kirkpatrick 4,528 8,060 Antarctic Plate 2,458
Transantarctic Mountains Antarctica Mount Kirkpatrick 4,528 207,304 Antarctic Plate 1,209
Altai Mountains Asia Belukha 4,506 462,747 Eurasian Plate 1,042
Sierra Nevada North America Mount Whitney 4,421 70,102 North American Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Pacific Plate 15

Data source: Natural Earth 1:10m geography regions and elevation points, v5.0.0, public domain. Download: GeoJSON , peaks CSV .

Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0.

Highest peaks

The 15 highest Natural Earth mountain points
RankPeakHeight (m)Region
1 Mount Everest 8,848 Asia
2 K2 8,611 Asia
3 Kanchenjunga 8,586 Asia
4 Dhaulagiri 8,172 Asia
5 Nanga Parbat 8,125 Asia
6 Nanda Devi 7,817 Asia
7 Batura Mustagh I 7,795 Asia
8 Namcha Barwa 7,782 Asia
9 Tirich Mir 7,708 Asia
10 Kongkoerh 7,649 Asia
11 Gangkar Punsum 7,570 Asia
12 Gongga Shan 7,556 Asia
13 Pik Imeni Ismail Samani 7,495 Asia
14 Nowshak 7,492 Asia
15 Pik Pobeda 7,439 Asia

Data source: Natural Earth 1:10m geography regions and elevation points, v5.0.0, public domain. Download: CSV .

Heights are Natural Earth's rounded values and can differ by a few meters from national surveys. For how the ranges line up with plate edges, open the tectonic plates map. Climate changes fast with height, as the climate zones map shows, and high ranges carry their own montane biomes.

Glossary

Mountain building
The folding and uplift of crust into mountain ranges, mostly where plates converge and one plate is pushed into or under another. Source
Convergent boundary
Plates move toward each other and crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Source
Subduction zone
Where one plate sinks under another and back into the mantle, usually marked by a deep ocean trench. Source

All terms in the glossary

Mountain ranges FAQ

What is the highest mountain range in the world?
The Himalayas. Their highest peak, Mount Everest, is 8,848 m in the Natural Earth data. The Karakoram, next to them, holds K2 at 8,611 m.
Which mountain range covers the most area?
The Andes, at 3,055,701 km² in the Natural Earth range polygons. Their highest point here is Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,959 m.
How do mountain ranges form?
Most form where plates converge. When two continents collide, the crust buckles and is pushed up, as with the Himalayas. Where ocean crust sinks under a continent, the edge is lifted, as with the Andes. See the convergent boundary page.
What are the main mountain ranges of each continent?
Asia has the Himalayas, Karakoram and Tian Shan; Europe the Alps (Mont Blanc, 4,807 m) and Caucasus; North America the Rocky Mountains (Mount Elbert, 4,402 m); South America the Andes; Australia the Great Dividing Range; Antarctica the Transantarctic Mountains.
Can I download the mountain range data?
Yes. The ranges are a GeoJSON file with the highest peak and nearby plates for each range, and the peaks are a CSV with name, height and position. Both come from Natural Earth and are public domain.

Sources: USGS, The Himalayas: two continents collide; USGS, Understanding plate motions; Natural Earth for ranges and heights.