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In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop or prime factor (in Europe), is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains. It describes how tall a peak is relative to neighbouring peaks, and in a way that makes precise the intuition that the world's second-tallest mountain is in fact K2 (height 8,611 m, prominence 3811 m), and not, say, Everest's South Summit (height 8749 m, prominence about 10 m). Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...
For the landform that extends above the surrounding terrain and that is smaller than a mountain, see the article on mountain. ...
Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ...
K2 is the second highest mountain in the world. ...
Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. ...
Definition of prominence There are several equivalent definitions: - The prominence of a peak is the height of the peak’s summit above the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit (the base contour of the peak).
- For a peak with prominence P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain, one must descend at least P metres, whatever route is taken.
- For all peaks except the highest on a landmass, prominence is the vertical difference between the peak’s summit and the highest "col" connecting it to an area of higher terrain. The usual meaning of col is any low point on a ridge. However, in this definition a specialised, non-standard meaning is given to "col", namely, the lowest point on a ridge connecting a summit to a higher area of land. To determine the "highest" requires investigating all possible ridge routes.
The highest connecting "col" is called the key col, linking col or just link. A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ...
Contour map A contour line (also level set, isogram or isarithm) for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has a particular value. ...
In a mountain range, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ...
A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. ...
A more detailed explanation is given below.
Parent peak  Vertical arrows show the topographic prominence of three peaks on an island. A dotted horizontal line links each peak except the highest to its linking col. The parent of the peak is on this higher terrain but if there are several higher peaks there are various ways of defining which one is the parent. These concepts give ways of putting all peaks on a landmass into a hierarchy showing which peaks are subpeaks of which others. For example, in the diagram on the right, the middle peak is a subpeak of the right peak, which is in turn a subpeak of the left peak, which is the highest point on its landmass. The key col and prominence are marked for each subpeak.
Prominence in mountaineering Prominence is interesting to mountaineers because it is an objective measurement that is strongly correlated with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are really just subsidiary tops of some higher summit. Peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and are likely to have extraordinary views. In the U.S., 2000 feet of prominence has become an informal threshold that signifies that a peak has major stature. If you were looking for the car, please see Mercury Mountaineer. ...
Many lists of mountains take topographic prominence as a criterion for inclusion. John and Anne Nuttall's The Mountains of England and Wales uses 15 m (about 50 ft), whereas Alan Dawson's list of Marilyns uses 150 m (about 500 ft). Lists with a high topographic prominence inclusion criterion tend to favour isolated peaks or those that are the highest point of their massif; a low value, such as the Nuttalls', results in a list with many summits which may be viewed by some as insignificant. This is a list of peaks by prominence; that is, a list of mountains on Earth ordered by their topographic prominence. ...
A Marilyn is a hill with a relative height of at least 150 metres, regardless of absolute height or other merit. ...
In geology, a massif is a section of the Earths crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ...
Interesting prominence situations The key col and parent peak are often close to the subpeak but this is not always the case, especially for major peaks. It is only with the advent of computer programs and geographical databases that thorough analysis has become possible. Denali redirects here. ...
State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st) - Land 1,481,347 km² - Water 236,507 km² (13. ...
Lake Nicaragua or Lake Cocibolca is a fresh-water lake in Nicaragua. ...
Panama Canal The Panama Canal is a large canal, 82 kilometres (51 miles) long, that cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ...
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in The Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, as well the highest peak outside of Asia. ...
For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...
Mount Whitney is the highest point in the Continental United States. ...
State nickname: Land of Enchantment Other U.S. States Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Governor Bill Richardson Official languages English and Spanish Area 315,194 km² (5th) - Land 314,590 km² - Water 607 km² (0. ...
Major Volcanoes in Mexico Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltépetl (in English: Orizaba Peak) is the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest volcano in the Western Hemisphere. ...
Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Splendour without diminishment) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Area 944,735 km² (5th) - Land 925,186 km² - Water 19,549 km² (2. ...
For other mountains named Mitchell, see Mount Mitchell. ...
The Appalachian Mountains are a system of North American mountains running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Alabama in the United States, although the northernmost mainland portion ends at the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. ...
Chicago, Illinois — officially the City of Chicago and colloquially known as Chicago, the Second City and the Windy City — is the third largest city of the United States after New York City and Los Angeles and is the largest inland city of the nation. ...
More detailed explanation The definition of prominence "the vertical difference between the peak’s summit and the highest col connecting it to a higher area of land" deserves more explanation. - "summit". The highest point on a peak or subpeak. The work "peak" is here being used generally to mean any mountain or hill.
- "col". A col is a low point on a ridge. There may be several cols on a particular ridge between two peaks – one of the cols will be the lowest. This lowest col will often be the one a mountain pass crosses as it goes over the ridge. Just in the particular context of this definition of prominence, the word "col" is being used to mean "lowest col on a ridge".
- "higher terrain". Which higher terrain is meant? In fact to begin with it could be any higher area of land: the actual area is still unknown. It is likely to be nearby but could be very remote. One needs to consider all higher areas in order to determine which one, in retrospect, turns out to be the one in question (which is also the one containing the parent peak).
- "the highest col". In the diagram above, the key col of the right hand peak is shown as the lower of the two cols. What has gone wrong? One must consider every possible ridge route from the peak to every higher land area. Each ridge will have a lowest col. There may be several ridge routes between a peak and a single area of higher terrain. All these lowest cols are listed, one for each ridge. Finally, the highest of all these lowest cols is identified. This, then, is the key col. However, for any peak, analysis only extends over the continent or island the peak is on.
To calculate the key col and parent peak seems like a good job for a computer and fortunately Edward Earl thought so too. His program WinProm can be used to make the very involved calculations required, based on the USGS Digital Elevation Model database. The underlying mathematical theory is called "Surface Network Modelling". In a mountain range, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ...
A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. ...
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. ...
A digital elevation model (DEM) is a representation of the topography of the Earth in digital format, that is, by coordinates and numerical descriptions of altitude. ...
Sometimes a definition is given such as "the lowest col connecting the peak to a higher summit". This is very misleading. It is true that the key col is the lowest col on the ridge. However, the ridge has been selected such that its lowest col is the highest one possible considering all ridge routes.
In the light of this complication, to visualise the situation it may be easier to use the first definition in this article "the height of the summit above the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit" Call the summit "Home Peak" and imagine sea level raised so that the top of Home Peak is a tiny island. There are other islands around, all with higher summits, the "Original Isles". Imagine the sea level dropping. The islands all get bigger and new ones (with lower summits) appear. Islands start merging together. They may take on contorted outlines of winding ridges if the topography is complex. A map of Sulawesi is a nice example. As sea level drops further a critical, unique event occurs. The island of Home Peak just becomes connected with one of the Original Isles. The point of connection (isthmus) is the key col. Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...
Flag of same Map of Sulawesi pictures by Julianto Halim Sulawesi (or Celebes) is a large Indonesian island. ...
Simplified diagram An isthmus is a narrow strip of land, bordered on two sides by water, and connects two larger land masses. ...
Since mountain altitudes are measured above sea level, the analysis above only extends over the geographical island or continent being studied.
There are different systems for defining the parent peak, which can lead to different results. One is that it is the highest point on the new, merged island. Another definition is that, following the ridge route from the peak through its key col and onwards, the parent is the first peak higher than the starting point.
See also Peak bagging (also hill bagging, mountain bagging, or among enthusiasts, just bagging) is a popular activity for hillwalkers and mountaineers in which they attempt to reach the summit of each peak in a region above some height, or having a particular feature. ...
This is a list of peaks by prominence; that is, a list of mountains on Earth ordered by their topographic prominence. ...
References
External links - Edward Earl’s article on Topographic Prominence
- Surface Network Modelling on the Center for Advanced Surface Analysis website
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