Visit the Solar System’s Highest Peaks — Mountains That Dwarf Everest

Visit the Solar System’s Highest Peaks

If you crave extreme panoramas, consider aiming for summits far beyond Earth—though the journeys would be truly epic. The tallest mountains in the solar system rise on other planets, moons and asteroids, and several of them dwarf Mount Everest, which stands about 29,029 feet (≈5.5 miles / 8.85 km) above sea level.

Notable extraterrestrial peaks

Ionian Mons (Io): On Jupiter’s moon Io—the most volcanically active world in the solar system—Ionian Mons is estimated to reach nearly 8 miles (≈13 km). Researchers have identified more than 130 mountain-like structures on Io, along with hundreds of volcanic sites.

Boösaule Montes (Io): Also on Io, Boösaule Montes rises to roughly 10.9 miles (≈17.6 km). Its name alludes to the myth of Io, the moon’s namesake, and related Greek legends.

Iapetus’ equatorial ridge (Saturn’s moon Iapetus): Iapetus sports a dramatic ridge that encircles its equator, with peaks reaching about 12 miles (≈19.3 km) high—more than twice Everest’s elevation. Iapetus is tiny compared with Earth (roughly 1/650th of Earth's volume), and the ridge gives the moon a walnut-like profile.

Ascraeus Mons (Mars): One of Mars’ large shield volcanoes, Ascraeus Mons stands near 11 miles (≈17.7 km) tall. For perspective, Earth’s tallest volcano measured from base to summit, Mauna Kea, measures about 6.2 miles (≈10.0 km) when counted from its underwater base.

Rheasilvia central peak (asteroid Vesta): About a billion years ago, a massive impact formed the Rheasilvia basin on Vesta, leaving a crater roughly 311 miles (≈501 km) across. At the basin’s center, an uplifted peak rises to about 14 miles (≈22.5 km) above the crater floor.

Olympus Mons (Mars): The largest known volcano in our neighborhood, Olympus Mons reaches up to roughly 16 miles (≈25.8 km) in elevation and spans about 374 miles (≈601 km) across—comparable in size to the state of Arizona. Its immense size and gentle slopes are a hallmark of shield volcanoes on planets with lower gravity and long-lived eruptions.

Final notes for would-be explorers

These alien peaks would pose extreme challenges even for the hardiest climbers: extreme heights, thin or nonexistent atmospheres, wildly different gravity, and extreme temperatures. If you ever plan an expedition to one of these giants, pack plentiful water, a reliable oxygen supply, suit systems for temperature and pressure control, and a healthy respect for interplanetary logistics.

Originally featured on Nautilus.