List of highest mountain peaks of Africa

Kilimanjaro from the air.

This is a list of the highest mountains of Africa. It aims to include the 75 highest mountains with a prominence of at least 500 m. Some regions are still poorly described and the list is likely to be both incomplete and not completely accurate. This is especially true for the Ethiopian Highlands, where heights on maps and in the literature differ between each other by up to 500 m. All elevations have been checked or chosen to match the SRTM-based contour lines in the Google terrain maps.

The highest African mountain is Kilimanjaro, which has three peaks, named Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira, of which Kibo is the tallest. Kibo and Mawenzi are listed separately below; Shira is not tall enough to qualify for this list.

See also

• Mountains portal

Notes

1. ↑ Only mountains with a prominence of 500 m or more are ranked.
2. ↑ Many mountains are known by multiple names, each with multiple spellings
3. ↑ Most "round" heights for mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands are crude estimates from contour lines on Google terrain maps.
4. ↑ The prominence data were extracted from a combination of maps and Google terrain data. Values for mountains with prominences over 1,500 m were copied from this website.
5. ↑ Extracted from the Google terrain maps
6. ↑ Here defined as the first higher 500-m-prominent mountain connected via the highest saddle.
7. ↑ First documented ascent by Europeans. Most mountains in this list are not technically difficult to climb and have been first-ascended by locals.
8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 André Meyer, Exploration of the Albert National Park - Mission for volcanic studies, Brussels 1955. Page 23
9. ↑ Tullu Demtu and Batu are two hills 6 km apart on a high plateau in the Bale Mountains and separated by a ca. 4135 mt high depression. According to SRTM data Batu appears the somewhat lower of the two (ca. 4350 m)
10. ↑ Once thought to be the highest peak of the High Atlas. Until recently estimated at 4,001 m
11. ↑ Often said to be 3,805 m high, but 3,880 contour lines are consistent with the 3,912 m height.
12. ↑ Brown favors a 3,842 m height, with 3,903 as alternative, but broad 3,860 m contour lines are consistent with the higher value
13. ↑ Often given a height of 3,949 m, which is not supported by SRTM data
14. ↑ Peak heights given in the literature include 3581m, 3517m, 3505m and 3450m. SRTM contour lines suggest 3510-3540 m. Summit at 1°16'20" N, 35°31'07" E looks equally high.
15. ↑ Often given a height of 3,664 m, which is not supported by SRTM data
16. ↑ Often given a height of 3,619 m, which is not supported by SRTM data
17. ↑ Often given a height of 4,000 m, which is not supported by SRTM data
18. ↑ Within the Itombwe Massif subrange

Sources

• Jamish Brown, Climbing in the Atlas Mountains, The Alpine Journal, 2002, pp. 81–91.
• Des Clark, Mountaineering in the Moroccan High Atlas, Cicerone, 2011
• Bernhard Lindahl, Local History of Ethiopia, 2005/2008 (for verification of names)
• Lists and/or maps covering all peaks in the world with 1500 m+ prominence at Peaklist.org
• "Africa Range3 High Points". Peakbagger.com. 
• "Africa 4000-meter Peaks". Peakbagger.com.  (an unverified list)