Highest and Lowest Points
See also: Extremes on Earth, Extreme points of Earth, and Seven SummitsThe following table lists the seven continents with their highest and lowest points on land, sorted in decreasing highest points.
| Continent | Highest point | Elevation (m) | Elevation (ft) | Country or territory containing highest point | Lowest point | Elevation (m) | Elevation (ft) | Country or territory containing lowest point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | Mount Everest | 8,848 | 29,029 | China and Nepal | Dead Sea | -422 | −1,384.5 | Israel, Jordan and Palestine |
| South America | Aconcagua | 6,960 | 22,830 | Argentina | Laguna del Carbón | -105 | −344.5 | Argentina |
| North America | Mount McKinley | 6,198 | 20,335 | United States | Death Valley † | -86 | −282.2 | United States |
| Africa | Mount Kilimanjaro | 5,895 | 19,341 | Tanzania | Lake Assal | -155 | −508.5 | Djibouti |
| Europe | Mount Elbrus | 5,633 | 18,481 | Russia | Caspian Sea | -28 | −91.9 | Russia |
| Antarctica | Vinson Massif | 4,892 | 16,050 | Antarctica | Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills † | -50 | −164.0 | Antarctica |
| Australia | Puncak Jaya | 4,884 | 16,024 | Indonesia (Papua) | Lake Eyre | -15 | −49.2 | Australia |
† The lowest exposed points are given for North America and Antarctica. The lowest non-submarine bedrock elevations in these continents are the trough beneath Jakobshavn Isbræ (−1,512 metres (−4,960.6 ft)) and Bentley Subglacial Trench (−2,540 metres (−8,333.3 ft)), but these are covered by kilometers of ice.
Some sources list the Kuma-Manych Depression (a remnant of the Paratethys) as the geological border between Europe and Asia. This would place the Caucasus outside of Europe, thus making Mont Blanc (elevation 4810 m) in the Graian Alps the highest point in Europe - the lowest point would still be the shore of the Caspian Sea.
Read more about this topic: Continent
Famous quotes containing the words highest, lowest and/or points:
“The physician’s highest calling, his only calling, is to make sick people healthy—to heal, as it is termed.”
—Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843)
“Met face to face, these Indians in their native woods looked like the sinister and slouching fellows whom you meet picking up strings and paper in the streets of a city. There is, in fact, a remarkable and unexpected resemblance between the degraded savage and the lowest classes in a great city. The one is no more a child of nature than the other. In the progress of degradation the distinction of races is soon lost.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them. But when they are away, we console ourselves for their absence by dwelling on their vices.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)