The '' Volcanic Seven Summits'' on an Elevation World Map.
The 'Volcanic Seven Summits' are the highest
volcanoes on each of the seven
continents, just as the
Seven Summits are the highest peaks (irrespective of geological origin) on each of the seven continents. Summiting all of the ''Volcanic Seven'' is regarded as a
mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in 1999.
''Volcanic Seven Summits'' definitions
Due to different interpretations of
continental borders (geological, geographical, geopolitical) several definitions for the highest summits per continent and the number of continents are possible. The number of ''seven'' continents used here is based on the
continent model used in
Western Europe and the
United States. The continents as defined here are on a geological and geographical basis, not geopolitical.
An additional complication in determining the highest ''volcanic'' summits is defining exactly what constitutes a volcano, and how much
topographic prominence it must have relative to any nearby non-volcanic peaks in order to qualify. For the purposes of this list, the summits must be an actual eruptive volcanic center, not merely made of volcanic rocks which were uplifted by other geological processes. In addition, a
topographic prominence of at least is required, so that the list includes only genuine volcanic mountains and not minor outpourings of lava which happened to leak to the Earth's surface in high-altitude regions (see the discussion under Asia below).
Africa, North America, Antarctica
The highest volcano on each of these continents is easily defined and undisputed:
Kilimanjaro for Africa,
Pico de Orizaba for North America, and
Mount Sidley for Antarctica.
Australia / Oceania
Although there are a few minor volcanoes on the
Australian mainland, this list recognizes that the island of
New Guinea is an integral part of the
Australian continent. Numerous scientific papers written in the 1970s and 1980s confirm that
Mount Giluwe in
Papua New Guinea is in fact an old eroded volcano (see e.g.
[1],
[2],
[3]),
unlike the higher mountains of New Guinea which are all non-volcanic in origin. Therefore Giluwe is the highest volcano on the Australian continent.
Even if this continent is defined instead as
Oceania (thus adding
New Zealand and
Polynesia including
Hawaii), Giluwe remains the highest volcano since it exceeds the elevation of
Mauna Kea in Hawaii and any volcano in New Zealand.
Europe
The generally accepted geographical border between Europe and Asia runs along the crest of the
Ural Mountains in central
Russia and of the
Caucasus along the southern border of Russia. Since the massive twin-peaked
stratovolcano of
Mount Elbrus rises just north of the crest, it is the highest summit in
Europe and also the highest volcano.
South America
Aconcagua, the highest peak in
South America, was long considered to be a volcano, but the current geological consensus is that the mountain consists of uplifted rocks of volcanic origin which did not erupt into its current form, so it is not a volcano.
A more difficult problem is determining which of the true South American volcanoes is the highest. Topographic maps of the
Chile /
Argentina border region which contains the highest peaks are of notoriously poor accuracy, with elevation errors exceeding 328 feet or 100 meters in many cases. The current consensus based on the most recent measurements places
Ojos del Salado as the 2nd highest peak (and highest volcano) in South America, significantly higher than
Monte Pissis.
[4]
Asia
The most problematic situation in defining the ''Volcanic Seven Summits'' is in
Asia. The
Mount Damavand is a very large isolated stratovolcano with over of
topographic prominence, yet there may be volcanic vents in
Tibet where lava has erupted at a higher elevation than Damavand's summit, in the Kunlun Volcanic Group at up to .
[5] However, information is extremely scarce about these volcanoes, and the listed elevation is of unknown accuracy or reliability. In addition, these cinder cones are unlikely to have a prominence greater than above the plateau from which they have erupted. The volcanoes in the list below all have prominences far exceeding that threshold.
Table of the ''Volcanic Seven Summits''
''† NOTE: Two of these "Volcanic Seven Summits", Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, are also members of the Seven Summits.''
''Volcanic Seven Second Summits''
Defining the second highest volcanoes (named here in analogy to the
Seven Second Summits) on each continent is a bit more complicated, because the continental definitions become critical. Once again as above, the second highest volcanoes in Africa, North America, and Antarctica are undisputed, and also in South America and Asia once the highest volcano has been determined.
The main problem is Australia / Oceania. Mount Hagen in
Papua New Guinea is certainly the second highest volcano on the
Australian continent, but expanding the continental definition to span
Oceania drops Hagen to 4th behind
Mauna Kea and
Mauna Loa on the
island of Hawaii.
In the case of Europe,
Kazbek is the second highest volcano. Although it lies entirely in the country of
Georgia, whose European status is sometimes disputed, Kazbek lies entirely on the European side of the Caucasus watershed. The river
Terek rises to the south and west of Kazbek but drains northwards to Russia.
[6]
All variant definitions are listed in the table below, so there are 8 volcanoes included:
''† NOTE: Only one of these "Volcanic Seven Second Summits", Mount Kenya, is also a member of the Seven Second Summits.''
References
★
The Volcanic "Seven Summits"
★
SummitPost - Volcanic Seven Summits
1. Volcanic and Glacial Landforms on Mount Giluwe, Territory of Papua and New Guinea, , D. H., Blake, Geological Society of America Bulletin,
2. Potassium-argon ages from some of the Papua New Guinea highlands volcanoes, and their relevance to Pleistocene geomorphic history, , E., Löffler, Journal of the Geological Society of Australia,
3. Giluwe and Hagen; glaciated volcanoes in the rain forests of western PNG, , D. E., Mackenzie, Volcano News,
4. The Andes: A Guide for Climbers (3rd Ed.), , John, Biggar, Andes, ,
5. Global Volcanism Program: Kunlun Volcanic Group
6. DMA Map NK 38-5 Gora Kazbek
See also
★
Seven Summits
★
Seven Second Summits
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