The Tallest Mountains in the Solar System
The
29ers: every mountain in the solar system that out-tops Mount Everest, measured base-to-summit. A
29er rises at least
29,000 feet from base to peak — and all
13 here clear that bar, from Earth's own Hawaiian volcanoes up to the ~72,000-ft co-champions
Olympus Mons and
Rheasilvia. All except one:
Mount Everest — the most famous mountain on the planet sneaks onto the list on its sea-level height alone, and earns an asterisk for it.
*
Olympus Mons29er
72,000 ft
Solar System Rank: 1 of 13
Mars
1
Rheasilvia29er
72,000 ft
Solar System Rank: 2 of 13
Vesta (asteroid)
2
Equatorial Ridge of Iapetus29er
65,600 ft
Solar System Rank: 3 of 13
Iapetus (moon of Saturn)
3
Boösaule Montes29er
59,700 ft
Solar System Rank: 4 of 13
Io (moon of Jupiter)
4
Ascraeus Mons29er
49,000 ft
Solar System Rank: 5 of 13
Mars
5
Ionian Mons29er
41,700 ft
Solar System Rank: 6 of 13
Io (moon of Jupiter)
6
Elysium Mons29er
41,000 ft
Solar System Rank: 7 of 13
Mars
7
Arsia Mons29er
38,400 ft
Solar System Rank: 8 of 13
Mars
8
Maxwell Montes29er
36,000 ft
Solar System Rank: 9 of 13
Venus
9
Euboea Montes29er
34,400 ft
Solar System Rank: 10 of 13
Io (moon of Jupiter)
10
Mauna Kea29er
33,500 ft
Solar System Rank: 11 of 13
Earth
11
Mauna Loa29er
30,085 ft
Solar System Rank: 12 of 13
Earth
12
Mount Everest29er*
29,032 ft*
Solar System Rank: 13 of 13
Earth
13
* Mount Everest is listed by its 29,032 ft elevation above sea level — the number that made it famous as Earth’s highest peak. Measured base-to-summit like every other mountain here, Everest rises only ~12,000–15,000 ft from its base on the Tibetan Plateau and wouldn’t qualify as a 29er at all. Earth’s real base-to-peak giants are the Hawaiian volcanoes Mauna Kea (33,500 ft) and Mauna Loa (30,085 ft). The world’s most famous mountain makes this list on a technicality.
