In a study published in 2005, a Brazilian mathematician proposed a more “realistic” way of measuring mountains. According to his method, the highest mountains are not those with the highest altitude, but those that stand out most in their surroundings: it doesn’t matter how high they are, but how impressive they seem.
We all “know” that the Monte Everestin the Himalayas, with its 8,848 meters of altitude, is the highest mountain on Earth — that is, if we count the height of the mountain from sea level.
If instead we consider the total distance from the base to the topthen the highest peak on the planet, in Hawaii. Its total height is 10.305 mbut about 6,000 m are hidden under water.
But the absolute altitude of a mountain, whether measured from sea level or from its base to its top, It’s not the most realistic way of measuring a mountain, considers the Brazilian mathematician Antonio Paulo de Fariaprofessor at the Institute of Geosciences at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
In a published in 2005 in Brazilian Journal of Geomorphologythe researcher proposed a completely different method of measuring mountains, which assesses not their absolute altitude, but its prominence in relation to its surroundings — that is, how much does the mountain stand out of the land that surrounds it.
“Altitude in relation to sea level does not define what a mountain is, much less if it is high or low” explains the researcher in his article: “There are some ways to define mountains and classify them into size classes depending on some parameters: height, altitude and alpine zone”.
According to the Brazilian mathematician, the best way to determine the magnitude of a mountain is then measure the projection of your peak in relation to its surroundings — a parameter that we can consult in .
Thus, if we consult the “jut” value, we realize that despite its 8,848 meters of altitude, the famous highest mountain in the world only rises 2,231 meters in relation to those that surround it.
If we consider this parameter, the highest mountain on the planet is actually , with an altitude of 7,647 meters — but which projects no less than 4,806 meters in relation to the mountains that surround it.
This mountain is, therefore, twice as “impressive” as Everest — which, in ranking the highest mountains in the world in terms of “projection” is only found in .
And so, how does this metric leave our Serra da Estrela?
Com 1,993 meters altitudeEstrela is the highest mountain in mainland Portugal. But its “jut”, that is, its relative “elevation” in relation to anyone nearby looking at the Tower, is just… .
And the highest mountain in Portugal? THE Ponta do Picoin the Azores, is 2,351 meters high, and a . Not bad: it’s a bit Everest.
