What is the longest mountain range in the world?
Quick answer
The Andes in South America are the longest mountain range on land, stretching about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) through seven countries, from Venezuela to the southern tip of Chile and Argentina. If you include underwater mountains, the mid-ocean ridge system is far longer, about 65,000 km, but it’s almost entirely beneath the sea.
The longest ranges on land
| Rank | Range | Length (approx.) | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andes | 7,000 km | South America |
| 2 | Southern Great Escarpment | 5,000 km | Africa |
| 3 | Rocky Mountains | 4,800 km | North America |
| 4 | Transantarctic Mountains | 3,500 km | Antarctica |
| 5 | Great Dividing Range | 3,500 km | Australia |
| 6 | Himalayas | 2,400 km | Asia |
The Himalayas are much shorter but far taller; they hold all ten of the world’s highest peaks.
The Andes at a glance
- Countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
- Highest peak: Aconcagua, about 6,961 m; see the highest mountain in South America
- Widest point: about 700 km, in Bolivia
- The Altiplano plateau is one of the highest inhabited regions on Earth.
The Andes formed, and are still rising, as the Nazca Plate slides beneath the South American Plate. This also makes the range very volcanic and earthquake-prone.
Life in the Andes
The Inca built a vast empire here, linked by roads and with mountaintop cities such as Machu Picchu; see the Qhapaq Ñan road network. Andean farmers domesticated the potato and quinoa, and herd llamas and alpacas.
The hidden longest range
The mid-ocean ridge winds through every ocean like the seam of a baseball. It forms where tectonic plates pull apart and new seafloor is created. The best-known section is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which rises above sea level in Iceland.
Other mountain records
- Tallest above sea level: Mount Everest, 8,849 m
- Tallest base to peak: Mauna Kea, Hawaii, about 10,200 m, mostly underwater
- Tallest in the solar system: see the tallest volcano in the solar system
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