List of longest mountain chains on Earth

The world's longest above-water mountain range is the Andes,[1][2] about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long. The range stretches from north to south through seven countries in South America, along the west coast of the continent: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Aconcagua is the highest peak, at about 6,962 m (22,841 ft).

The Andes range consist of hundreds of mountain peaks.

This list does not include submarine mountain ranges. If submarine mountains are included, the longest is the global mid-ocean ridge system which extends for about 65,000 km(40,389 mi).[3]

Formation

Mountain chains are typically formed by the process of plate tectonics. Tectonic plates slide very slowly over the Earth's mantle, a lower place of rock that is heated from the Earth's interior. Several huge sections of the earth's crust are impelled by heat currents in the mantle, producing tremendous forces that can buckle the material at the edges of the plates to form mountains. Usually one plate is forced underneath the other, and the lower plate is slowly absorbed by the mantle. Where the two plates pass one another, heated rock from the mantle can burst through the crust to form volcanoes. The movement of the plates against one another can also cause earthquakes.

List
Rank Range Continent Country Coordinates Approx. length Approx. width Max. elevation Highest point
1 Andes South America Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela		 32°S 70°W / -32; -70 7,000 km
(4,300 mi)		 500 km
(310 mi)		 6,962 m
(22,841 ft)		 Mount Aconcagua
2 Southern Great Escarpment Africa[4][5][6] Zimbabwe
South Africa
Swaziland
Lesotho
Namibia
Angola		 29°S 29°E / -29; 29 5,000 km
(3,100 mi)		 300 km
(200 mi)		 3,482 m
(11,424 ft)		 Thabana Ntlenyana
3 Rocky Mountains North America[7][8][9] Canada
United States		 39°N 106°W / 39; -106 4,800 km
(3,000 mi)		 300 km
(200 mi)		 4,401 m
(14,439 ft)		 Mount Elbert
4 Transantarctic Mountains Antarctica[10][11][12] Antarctica 84°S 166°E / -84; 166 3,500 km
(2,200 mi)		 400 km
(250 mi)		 4,528 m
(14,856 ft)		 Mount Kirkpatrick
5 Great Dividing Range Australia[13][14][15][16] Australia 36°S 148°E / -36; 148 3,500 km
(2,200 mi)		 300 km
(190 mi)		 2,228 m
(7,310 ft)		 Mount Kosciuszko
6 Himalayas Asia[17][18][19] Nepal
Pakistan
China
Bhutan
India
Afghanistan
Myanmar		 27°N 86°E / 27; 86 2,600 km
(1,600 mi)		 350 km
(220 mi)		 8,848 m
(29,029 ft)		 Mount Everest
7 Ural Mountains Asia and Europe[20] Russia
Kazakhstan		 60°N 60°E / 60; 60 2,500 km
(1,600 mi)		 150 km
(93 mi)		 1,895 m
(6,217 ft)		 Mount Narodnaya

See also

References
  1. Andes Mountains by Alan W./Knapp Gregory. 1999 Archived 2017-04-29 at the Wayback Machine Retrieve 2002
  2. Windows to Universe The Andes Mountains by: Julia Genyuk. Retrieve 17 November 2008
  3. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What is the longest mountain range on earth?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  4. Encyclopædia Britannica “Great Escarpment” by: Encyclopædia Britannica(undated)
  5. Encyclopædia Britannica Article The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity by V. Ralph Clark, Nigel P. Barker and Laco Mucina Retrieve 2015
  6. Biodiversity and Conservation]
  7. USA tourist Rocky Mountain National Park by: Mike Leco(undated)
  8. Tour Guide Article Rocky Mountain National Park by John William Uhler Retrieve 2007
  9. Encyclopædia BritannicaRocky Mountains By Armand J. Eardley/Richard A. Marston
  10. Antarctic Connection The Transantarctic Mountains Archived 2011-04-15 at the Wayback Machine(undated)
  11. Aaron Martin TAM-The Transantarctic Mountains Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieve 4/7/02.
  12. Encyclopædia Britannica.Article-Online|Transantarctic Mountains Retrieve 22 march 2011
  13. Australian Explorer Australian Travel Information - Great Dividing Range
  14. "Great Dividing Range". World Mountain Encyclopedia. Peakware. 1998. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  15. Encyclopædia BritannicaGreat Dividing Range
  16. Great Dividing Range The Columbia Encyclopedia, Retrieve 2008
  17. Travel Himalayas The legendary majestic Beauty- Himalayan Mountain Range
  18. Himalayan Mountain Himalaya, A dream for all explorers
  19. Explore Himalayan Mountain Ranges of Himalayas
  20. https://www.britannica.com/place/Ural-Mountains
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