If the Caucasian mountains belong to Europe there are 5 continents with peaks over 5000 m: The Asian continent, North and South America, Africa and Europe. While the 5000 m peaks in Asia - particularly Himalaya and Karakorum - reache uncountable numbers of 5000 m peaks, other regions with 5000 m peaks keep manageable. So the Andes count more than 800 peaks over 5000 m, Alaska and Canada about 40, Africa about 10, the Caucasian mountains about 20 and the Elbruz mountain range counts only one peak over 5000 m.

The list below the image describes mountain ranges where the number of 5000 m peaks is countable and where the highest peak has an elevation between 5000 m and 6000 m. Therefore the Alaska Range, the Andes and the ranges close to the Himalaya are not itemized. Despite this exceptions there remain still 11 independent ranges with a main peak higher than 5000 m. Enlarge the following picture to view all SRTM points higher than 5000 m or have a look at the relief map on www.maps-for-free.com showing the highest peaks of the 11 selected ranges.

(Click to enlarge)

Every red dot marks a place with elevations of at least 5000 m above sea level. The map is based on SRTM data

• The Saint Elias Mountains is a mountain range of Alaska and Canada. The highest peak of the range is Mount Logan (5959 m). Other major peaks higher than 5000 m are Mount Saint Elias (5489 m), Mount Lucania (5226 m), King Peak (5173 m), Mount Steele (5073) and Mount Bona (5005 m).

• The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt also known as Cordillera Neovolcánica is a volcanic belt that runs 900 km east-west across central-southern Mexico. The highest peak is Pico de Orizaba (5636 m) followed by Popocatépetl (5426 m) and Iztaccíhuatl (5230 m).

• The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes in the northern part of Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range. The highest point of the Santa Marta group may be either Pico Cristóbal Colón (ca. 5700 m) or Pico Simón Bolívar (ca. 5700 m); it has never been determined which of the twin peaks is higher. SRTM data and local topographic maps show that their true elevations is lower than the often quoted height of 5775 metre.

• The northern part of the Andes - mainly located in Ecuador and Colombia - is devided into three ranges: The Cordillera Occidental in the west, the Cordillera Central in the middle and the Cordillera Oriental in the east. While Cordilliera Occidental reaches elevations above 6000 m with Chimborazzo (6268 m) as its highest peak, the highest peak of Cordillera Central is Cotopaxi (5897 m) located in Ecuador. Other major peaks of Cordillera Central with elevations above 5000 m are Nevado del Huila (5390 m), Nevado del Ruiz (5300 m), Nevado del Tolima (5280 m) and the Snow Mountain of Quindio (5150 m) located in Colombia as well as Antisana (5753 m) and Cayambe (5790 m) located in Ecuador. The only peak of Cordillera Oriental with an elevation above 5000 m is Ritacuba Blanco (5410 m) located in Colombia.

• The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain range in Eurasia bordered on the north by Russia, on the southwest by Turkey, on the west by the Black Sea, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. The highest peak is Mount Elbrus (5642 m). Other high peaks are Pik Pushkin (5100 m) and Gora Kazbek (5034 m).

• The Armenian Highland - also known as the Armenian Upland or Armenian Plateau - is part of the Transcaucasian Highland and constitutes the continuation of the Caucasus mountains with it's highest point Mount Ararat ( 5165 m).

• Alborz also written as Alburz or Elburz is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian (Mazandaran) Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The highest mountain, Mount Damavand (5610 m), is located in the Middle East of the range.

• The Ruwenzori Range, now officially called Rwenzori Mountains is a small but spectacular mountain range of central Africa with its highest point Mount Rwenzori (5109 m), located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• The Mount Kenya massiv is the highest mountain range in Kenya with Mount Kenya (5199 m) as the second-highest peak of Africa. Other major peaks are Mount Batian (5199 m) and Mount Nelion (5188 m).

• The Kilimanjaro massiv with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawensi, and Shira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania. Although it does not have the highest elevation of the world, Kilimanjaro (5895 m) is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, rising 4600 m from its base. Mawensi reaches a height of 5149 m while Shira (3962 m) is not even a 4000 m peak...