The CIA World Factbook Edition 2011 Geography
Elevation In 29 editions of 36.
Elevation was published in 29 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1997 to 2025. The 2011 edition carries it in 260 entries, in its Geography section, under the heading “Elevation extremes”. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.
- entries in the 2011 edition
- 260
- the first edition with it
- 1997
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Elevation extremes” (1997 to 2015) and “Elevation” (2016 to 2025).
the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Elevation, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.
No entries match. Try a shorter word.
Entries with Elevation in each edition
Select a bar to open that edition.
World
1 entryWorld
- lowest point:
- Bentley Subglacial Trench (Antarctica) -2,555 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean
- highest point:
- Mount Everest 8,850 m
- top ten highest mountains (measured from sea level):
- Mount Everest (China-Nepal) 8,850 m;
- K2 (Pakistan) 8,611 m;
- Kanchenjunga (India-Nepal) 8,598 m;
- Lhotse (Nepal) 8,516 m;
- Makalu (China-Nepal) 8,463 m;
- Cho Oyu (China-Nepal) 8,201 m;
- Dhaulagiri (Nepal) 8,167 m;
- Manaslu (Nepal) 8,163 m;
- Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) 8,125 m;
- Anapurna (Nepal) 8,091 m
Africa
57 entriesBotswana
- lowest point:
- junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
- highest point:
- Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m
Cape Verde now Cabo Verde
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the now Democratic Republic of the Congo
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m
Congo, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mount Berongou 903 m
Guinea-Bissau
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed elevation in the eastern part of the country 300 m
Lesotho
- lowest point:
- junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
- highest point:
- Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Malawi
- lowest point:
- junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
- highest point:
- Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m;
- Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m;
- Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 m
Senegal
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed elevation southwest of Kedougou 581 m
Antarctic Region
5 entriesAntarctica
- lowest point:
- Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
- highest point:
- Vinson Massif 4,897 m
note: the lowest known land point in Antarctica is hidden in the Bentley Subglacial Trench; at its surface is the deepest ice yet discovered and the world's lowest elevation not under seawater
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
- lowest point:
- Indian Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mont de la Dives on Ile Amsterdam (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul) 867 m;
- unnamed location on Ile Saint-Paul (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul) 272 m;
- Pic Marion-Dufresne in Iles Crozet 1,090 m;
- Mont Ross in Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m;
- unnamed location on Bassas de India (Iles Eparses) 2.4 m;
- unnamed location on Europa Island (Iles Eparses) 24 m;
- unnamed location on Glorioso Islands (Iles Eparses) 12 m;
- unnamed location on Juan de Nova Island (Iles Eparses) 10 m;
- unnamed location on Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses) 7 m
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- lowest point:
- Indian Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mawson Peak on Big Ben volcano 2,745 m
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands now South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m
Arctic Region
4 entriesIceland
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull glacier)
Jan Mayen
- lowest point:
- Norwegian Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- Haakon VII Toppen on Beerenberg 2,277 m
note: Beerenberg volcano has numerous peaks; the highest point on the volcano rim is named Haakon VII Toppen, after Norway's first king following the reestablishment of Norwegian independence in 1905
Asia
23 entriesBritish Indian Ocean Territory
- lowest point:
- Indian Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Kazakhstan
- lowest point:
- Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
- highest point:
- Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m
Kyrgyzstan
- lowest point:
- Kara-Daryya (Karadar'ya) 132 m
- highest point:
- Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobedy) 7,439 m
Maldives
- lowest point:
- Indian Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed location on Viligili in the Addu Atholhu 2.4 m
Tajikistan
- lowest point:
- Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
- highest point:
- Qullai Ismoili Somoni (Pik Imeni Ismail Samani) 7,495 m
Turkmenistan
- lowest point:
- Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m
note: Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
- highest point:
- Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Central America and the Caribbean
33 entriesBahamas, The now The Bahamas
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mount Alvernia on Cat Island 63 m
Guatemala
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m
note: highest point in Central America
Montserrat
- lowest point:
- Caribbean Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006)
Europe
49 entriesEuropean Union
- lowest point:
- Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
- highest point:
- Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy
Finland
- lowest point:
- Baltic Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- Halti (alternatively Haltia, Haltitunturi, Haltiatunturi) 1,328 m
France
- lowest point:
- Rhone River delta -2 m
- highest point:
- Mont Blanc 4,807 m
note: in order to assess the possible effects of climate change on the ice and snow cap of Mont Blanc, its surface and peak have been extensively measured in recent years; these new peak measurements have exceeded the traditional height of 4,807 m and have varied between 4,808 m and 4,811 m; the actual rock summit is 4,792 m and is 40 m away from the ice-covered summit
Italy
- lowest point:
- Mediterranean Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)
Kosovo
- lowest point:
- Drini i Bardhe/Beli Drim 297 m (located on the border with Albania)
- highest point:
- Gjeravica/Deravica 2,656 m
Netherlands
- lowest point:
- Zuidplaspolder -7 m
- highest point:
- Mount Scenery 862 m (on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, now considered an integral part of the Netherlands following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles)
note: the highest point on continental Netherlands is Vaalserberg at 322 m
Macedonia now North Macedonia
- lowest point:
- Vardar River 50 m
- highest point:
- Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m
Portugal
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m
Spain
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Sweden
- lowest point:
- reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m
- highest point:
- Kebnekaise 2,111 m
Middle East
17 entriesIraq
- lowest point:
- Persian Gulf 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed peak;
- 3,611 m;
- note - this peak is neither Gundah Zhur 3,607 m nor Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
North America
6 entriesSaint Pierre and Miquelon
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m
United States
- lowest point:
- Death Valley -86 m
- highest point:
- Mount McKinley 6,194 m
note: the peak of Mauna Kea (4,207 m above sea level) on the island of Hawaii rises about 10,200 m above the Pacific Ocean floor; by this measurement, it is the world's tallest mountain - higher than Mount Everest, which is recognized as the tallest mountain above sea level
Oceania
28 entriesMicronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 m
Northern Mariana Islands
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed elevation on Agrihan 965 m
United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Baker Island, unnamed location - 8 m;
- Howland Island, unnamed location - 3 m;
- Jarvis Island, unnamed location - 7 m;
- Johnston Atoll, Sand Island - 10 m;
- Kingman Reef, unnamed location - less than 2 m;
- Midway Islands, unnamed location - 13 m;
- Palmyra Atoll, unnamed location - 3 m
South America
13 entriesArgentina
- lowest point:
- Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz)
- highest point:
- Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza)
Colombia
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation
Ecuador
- lowest point:
- Pacific Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Chimborazo 6,267 m
note: due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere and has an equatorial bulge, the highest point on the planet furthest from its center is Mount Chimborazo not Mount Everest, which is merely the highest peak above sea-level
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Mount Usborne 705 m
Southeast Asia
19 entriesParacel Islands
- lowest point:
- South China Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m
Spratly Islands
- lowest point:
- South China Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m
Timor-Leste
- lowest point:
- Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
- highest point:
- Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m
Oceans
5 entriesAtlantic Ocean
- lowest point:
- Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
- highest point:
- sea level 0 m
Pacific Ocean
- lowest point:
- Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
- highest point:
- sea level 0 m
Southern Ocean
- lowest point:
- -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
- highest point:
- sea level 0 m
Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2011, “Elevation”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/elevation/2011.