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Mount Elbrus   Europe and Asia should be considered a single continent at a geographical / geological level, on some segments of separation there is unanimity (Ural Mountains for example), on others less, as for the Caucasus, where the highest peaks of Europe are found if the border line is constituted by this mountain range, which is instead considered in Asia by other geographers, so in this case Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe.

   After the Caucasus and the Alps, the highest peaks are found in the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and in the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily; the other mountain ranges remain just below the three thousand meter mark.

   Much of central-eastern Europe is flat, before finding a noteworthy mountain range you need to get to the Urals, which divide this continent from Asia.


Mountain Height (meters) Height (feet) Mountain Range Country
Mount Elbrus (1) 5,642 18,510 Caucasus Mountains Russia
Dykh-Tau (2) 5,205 17,077 Caucasus Mountains Russia
Shkhara (3) 5,193 17,037 Caucasus Mountains Georgia / Russia
Mont Blanc (4) 4,809 15,778 Alps France / Italy
Monte Rosa (5) 4,634 15,203 Alps Italy / Switzerland
Dom (6) 4,545 14,911 Alps Switzerland
Grossglockner 3,798 12,461 Alps Austria
Mulhacén (7) 3,480 11,417 Sierra Nevada Spain
Aneto (8) 3,404 11,168 Pyrenees Spain
Etna (9) 3,326 10,912 Etna Italy
Zugspitze 2,962 9,718 Alps Germany
Musala (10) 2,925 9,596 Rila Bulgaria
Mount Olympus (11) 2,904 9,528 Thessaly-Macedonia Greece
Mount Korab 2,764 9,068 Korab Mountains Albania / North Macedonia
Maja Jezercë 2,694 8,839 Dinaric Alps Albania
Gerlach (12) 2,654 8,707 High Tatras Slovakia
Moldoveanu Peak 2,544 8,346 Transylvanian Alps Romania
Galdhøpiggen (13) 2,469 8,100 Jotunheimen Norway
Hvannadalshnjúkur 2,110 6,923 Öræfajökull volcano Iceland
Mount Narodnaya (14) 1,895 6,217 Ural Mountains Russia
Ben Nevis (15) 1,344 4,409 Grampian Mountains United Kingdom

* only the most significant mountains are reported after the three highest


(1) It is still unclear whether to consider this chain in Asia or Europe; highest Russian peak.
(2) See the previous note on Elbrus for its continental location.
(3) Summit located on the border between Europe and Asia, considering the Caucasus as the watershed between the two continents.
(4) Highest peak in the Alps, historical dispute over the location of the summit, whether on the border or not.
(5) The highest point of the massif is on Swiss territory (a hundred meters from the border with Italy); second highest Alpsne peak.
(6) Third peak of the Alps.
(7) Maximum peak of the third highest European mountain range after the Caucasus and the Alps.
(8) Highest peak in the Pyrenees.
(9) The highest active volcano in Europe.
(10) Major peak of the Balkan Peninsula.
(11) In Greek mythology it was considered the home of the gods.
(12) Highest point in the Carpathians.
(13) Highest peak in Scandinavia and Northern Europe.
(14) Highest peak of this mountain range that separates Europe and Asia.
(15) Highest peak in the British Isles.