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The World’s Highest Mountains, And What Their Names Mean

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The Meanings of the Names of the World's Highest Mountains

World’s Highest Mountains, and What Their Names Mean

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From the Himalayas to the Andes, mountains have inspired and awed us for thousands of years.

Humans have ascribed all sorts of mythologies and metaphors to these jagged geological features. But while Everest or Kilimanjaro may ring a bell, do you know the meaning behind their names?

Today’s infographic from Alan’s Factory Outlet sorts the world’s highest mountains by continent, and explains the detailed origins of their names.

A Mountain By Any Other Name

Out of the 70 mountains profiled, only 41 are actually considered mountains. The rest are technically either a massif or a volcano (or a dome in one instance).

A massif (French for ‘massive’) is produced when a hard, unbendable rock is pushed towards the surface. They can also be formed when magma hardens once it’s above ground. For the rest of this post, we’ll refer to mountains and massifs interchangeably.

The highest mountains on each continent are considered to be part of the Seven Summits. Mountaineer Richard Bass was the first to scale all seven summits in 1985—and the 55-year old did so in only one year.

The Highest Mountain on Each Continent

NameLocationHeightMeaning of Name
Mount EverestNepal/ China, Asia29,029ft (8,848m)After Sir George Everest, former surveyor of India
Nepali name (Sagarmatha): “Forehead of the Sky”
Tibetan name (Chomolungma): “Goddess Mother of Mountain”
AconcaguaArgentina, S. America22,841ft (6,962m)Various native words: “Comes from the other side”, “Sentinel of stone”, “White sentinel”, “white ravine”
DenaliAlaska, U.S., N. America20,310ft (6,190m)Native Koyukon Athabascan: ‘high’ or ‘tall’
Mount KilimanjaroTanzania, Africa19,341ft (5,895m)Unclear, but some suggest it is a combination of Swahili 'Kilma' ("mountain") and KiChagga 'Njaro' ("whiteness")
Mount ElbrusRussia, Europe18,510ft (5,642m)Derived from Iranian mythology for  legendary mountain ‘Avestan Hara Berezaiti’: “high watchtower”
Vinson MassifAntarctica16,050ft (4,892m)After Carl G. Vinson, a congressman from Georgia who supported the Antarctic Exploration
Puncak JayaIndonesia, Asia/ Oceania16,024ft (4,884m)Sanskrit: "Victorious mountain"

Among these impressive peaks, two are technically volcanoes—Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mount Elbrus in Russia. Overall, it’s clear that a majority of their names have been influenced by the native languages in their surroundings.

The 10 Asian Giants

The highest mountains in the world are all in Asia, with nine of the ten highest found in the Himalayan range. Many of their names are derived from Sino-Tibetan languages, and some have mythological or religious influences.

NameLocationHeightMeaning of Name
Mount EverestNepal/ China29,029ft (8,848m)After Sir George Everest, former surveyor of India
Nepali name (Sagarmatha): “Forehead of the Sky”
Tibetan name (Chomolungma): “Goddess Mother of Mountain”
K2Pakistan28,251ft (8,611m)First surveyor labeled each mountain with a K and number. It has no local name due to its remoteness
KangchenjungaNepal/ India28,169ft (8,586m)Lhopo: “Five treasures of the high snow”
LhotseNepal/ China27,940ft (8,516m)Tibetan: “South peak”
MakaluNepal/ China27,838ft (8,485m)Sanskrit origin: “Big Black”, the name for the Hindu god Shiva
Cho OyuNepal26,864ft (8,188m)Tibetan: “Turquoise goddess”
Dhaulagiri
(*Massif)
Nepal26,795ft (8,167m)Sanskrit origin: ‘Dazzling, beautiful, white mountain’
ManasluNepal26,781ft (8,163m)Tibetan: ‘Mountain of the spirit’
Sanskrit origin (Manasa): ‘intellect’ or ‘soul’
Nanga ParbatPakistan26,660ft (8,126m)Sanskrit origin: “Naked mountain”
Annapurna
(*Massif)
Nepal26,545ft (8,091m)Sanskrit origin: “Everlasting food”
Name of the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment, believed to reside in the mountain

The second-highest mountain, K2 in Pakistan, lacks a more flowery name because it isn’t visible by any locals due to its remote location.

Majestic North America

The highest peaks in this region are scattered across three countries, with five volcanoes, four mountains, and one massif. Denali in Alaska, U.S. boasts unique names across nearly seven different Indigenous languages.

NameLocationHeightMeaning of Name
DenaliAlaska, U.S.20,310 ft (6,190 m)Native Koyukon Athabascan: ‘high’ or ‘tall’
Mount LoganCanada19,551 ft (5,959 m)After Sir William Edmond Logan
(Founder of Geological Survey of Canada
Pico de OrizabaMexico18,491 ft (5,636 m)Nahuatl: "Star mountain"
Mount Saint EliasAlaska, U.S.18,009 ft (5,489 m)After Cape Saint Elias
Tlingit: "Mountain behind icy bay"
PopocatépetlMexico17,749 ft (5,410 m)Nahuatl: "Smoking Mountain"
Mount ForakerAlaska, U.S.17,400 ft (5,304 m)After an Ohio Senator, Joseph B. Foraker
Dena'ina: "Denali's wife"
Mount LucaniaCanada17,257 ft (5,260 m)Named by the Duke of Abruzzi for the RMS Lucania
(A ship he sailed from Liverpool to New York)
IztaccíhuatlMexico17,159 ft (5,230 m)Nahuatl: "White woman"
King PeakCanada16,972 ft (5,173 m)After Canadian surveyor and politician William King
Mount BonaAlaska, U.S.16,550 ft (5,044 m)Named by the Duke of Abruzzi after his racing yacht

Mexico’s highest volcanoes also have a Romeo and Juliet-esque myth that links them. Popocatépetl (active volcano) and Iztaccíhuatl (dormant volcano) are presumed to be lovers, both of whom meet a tragic end. It’s said that the active volcano is avenging its beloved’s death to this day.

Far Beyond the Horizon

Traveling to the southernmost tip of the Earth, you might be surprised to learn that volcanoes even exist in Antarctica. Mount Sidley is the highest, dormant, snow-covered volcano found here.

The only dome on the entire highest mountains list is Dome Argus (13,428 ft or 4,093 m). This is the coldest place on the planet, dropping between -144°F to -133°F (-98°C to -90°C).

Dome Argus is also unique from another angle—it’s the only one on Antarctica with fabled origins, based off the Greek figure Argus, builder of the mythological hero Jason and the Argonauts’ ship. The remaining mountains here are named for scientists and supporters of various Antarctic expeditions.

Under Sea, and Outer Space

All these highest mountains are visible on land, but it’s possible that more secrets remain in the deep blue. The Hawaiian dormant volcano Mauna Kea doesn’t make this list due to its lower elevation above sea level, but it’s actually 33,500ft (10,200m) high from tip to peak—far taller than even Everest.

Everest is still really impressive, but it’s also only a fraction of the size of Olympus Mons, the highest mountain on Mars and in the solar system. New planets are also being discovered every year, presenting further possibilities.

Ultimately, this suggests we’ve not yet peaked at discovering the massive mountains which exist in—and out—of this world.

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Travel

Charted: Global Tourism Rebounds to Pre-Pandemic Levels

We visualize monthly foreign visitor arrivals, indexed to December 2019, indicating global tourism has all but recovered from COVID-19 disruptions.

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A cropped time series chart showing the number of foreign visitors across regions, indexed to December 2019 levels, indicating global tourism has rebounded.

Charted: Global Tourism Rebounds to 2019 Levels

Love them or hate them, tourists are back.

Global tourism has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels according to data sourced from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Report (2023)

We visualize monthly arrivals of foreign visitors to various regions, indexed to December 2019 levels.

Europe Leads as Destination for Resurging Tourism

Having been the first industry to suffer almost immediately from COVID-19 required lockdowns and border closures, global tourism has been on a steady recovery in the last year and a half.

In fact, Europe was the first region to get back to pre-pandemic levels in April–May 2022, with the U.S. nearly approaching the mark in July that same year.

In the tables below we showcase the relative scale of monthly arrivals of foreign visitors to various regions, indexed to Dec 2019 levels. Figures below 100 mean there were fewer foreign arrivals than December 2019, and vice-versa.

Year/MonthSouthern EuropeRest of EuropeU.S.
Dec 201572.482.2111.1
Dec 201680.587.0107.9
Dec 201782.792.6108.8
Dec 201891.896.0100.6
Dec 2019100.0100.0100.0
Dec 202026.413.715.9
Dec 202173.650.146.9
Dec 202295.297.168.1
April 2023117.2121.897.8

Latin America also hit pre-pandemic levels of tourists in June 2022 and then again in April 2023.

One major exception to the recovery is Asia (excluding China), which was at 90.8% of 2019 levels as of April 2023. As it happens, the lack of Chinese tourists—due to China’s prolonged period of COVID-19 lockdowns—are likely a major factor for Asia’s slower tourism recovery.

Year/MonthLatin America &
the Caribbean
Asia (ex-China)Rest of World
Dec 201582.998.1101.7
Dec 201692.1103.3105.5
Dec 201797.4108.1104.5
Dec 201897.1115.0102.7
Dec 2019100.0100.0100.0
Dec 202049.3-0.48.1
Dec 202176.92.221.0
Dec 202290.349.264.4
April 2023102.590.886.6

Rising Chinese income levels has made the country the world’s largest source of tourists. For example, in 2019 (pre-COVID), China ranked first in terms of outbound tourism spending, at $255 billion.

Airlines Passenger Share Mirrors Tourism Trends

Consequently, the airline industry of these regions has also seen correlating gains and losses in traffic. European airlines had the highest share of passenger traffic, followed by the U.S. in 2022. At the same time all four of China’s largest airlines saw a fall in traffic.

Meanwhile the outlook on the Chinese economy (second largest in the world) remains uncertain at best, which is casting a pall on global growth prospects for the next year.

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