Extremes On Earth - Extreme Elevations and Temperatures Per Continent

Extreme Elevations and Temperatures Per Continent

Further information: List of highest mountains, Seven Summits, and List of weather records
Continent Elevation (height above/below sea level) Temperature (recorded)A
Highest Lowest Highest Lowest
Africa 5,893 m (19,334 ft)
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania		 −155 m (−509 ft)
Lake Assal, Djibouti		 55 °C (131 °F)
Kebili, Tunisia
7 July 1931		 −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F)
Ifrane, Morocco
11 February 1935
Antarctica 4,892 m (16,050 ft)
Vinson Massif		 −50 m (−164 ft)
Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills
(compare the deepest ice section below)		 15 °C (59 °F)
Vanda Station
5 January 1974		 −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F)
Vostok Station
21 July 1983
Asia 8,848 m (29,029 ft)
Mount Everest, Nepal		 −424 m (−1,391 ft)
Dead Sea shore, Israel - West Bank - Jordan		 53.9 °C (129.0 °F)
Tirat Zvi, British Mandate of Palestine
21 June 1942C		 −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F)
Verkhoyansk, Siberia, Russia (then in the Russian Empire)
5 February 1892
−71.2 °C (−96.2 °F)
Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (then in the Soviet Union)
26 January 1926
Europe 5,642 m (18,510 ft)
Mount Elbrus, Russia
(compare Mont Blanc)		 −28 m (−92 ft)
Caspian Sea shore, Russia
(compare the Tagebau Hambach)		 48.0 °C (118.4 °F)
Athens, Greece
(and Elefsina, Greece)
10 July 1977 D		 −58.1 °C (−72.6 °F)
Ust-Shchuger, Russia
31 December 1978
North America 6,198 m (20,335 ft)
Denali (Mount McKinley), Alaska, U.S.A.		 −86 m (−282 ft)
Death Valley, California, U.S.A.
(compare the deepest ice section below)		 56.7 °C (134.1 °F)
Death Valley, California, U.S.A.
10 July 1913		 −63 °C (−81.4 °F)
Snag, Yukon, Canada
3 February 1947
−66.1 °C (−87.0 °F)
North Ice, Greenland
9 January 1954
Oceania
(including Australia)		 4,884 m (16,024 ft)
Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid), Indonesia
(compare Mount Wilhelm and Mount Kosciuszko)		 −15 m (−49 ft)
Lake Eyre, South Australia, Australia		 50.7 °C (123.3 °F)
Oodnadatta, South Australia, Australia
2 January 1960E		 −25.6 °C (−14.1 °F)
Ranfurly, New Zealand
18 July 1903
South America 6,962 m (22,841 ft)
Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina		 −105 m (−344 ft)
Laguna del Carbón, Argentina		 48.9 °C (120.0 °F)
Rivadavia, Salta Province, Argentina
11 December 1905		 −32.8 °C (−27.0 °F)
Sarmiento, Argentina
1 June 1907
A.^ All temperatures from the World Meteorological Organization unless noted.
B.^ Height above sea level is the usual choice of definition for elevation. In terms of the point farthest away from the centre of the Earth, Chimborazo in Ecuador (6,267 m (20,561 ft)) can be considered the planet's most extreme high point. This is due to the Earth's oblate spheroid shape, with points near the Equator being farther out from the centre than those at the poles.
C.^ This is the highest recorded air temperature. Higher surface temperatures have been recorded, for example, 70.7 °C (159.3 °F) in 2004 and 2005 in the Lut desert, Iran.
D.^ Temperatures greater than 50 °C (122 °F) in Spain and Portugal were recorded in 1881, but the standard with which they were measured and the accuracy of the thermometers used are unknown; therefore, they are not considered official. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that a set of Spanish stations may have hit 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) during the 2003 heat wave.
E.^ A temperature of 53.1 °C (127.6 °F) was recorded in Cloncurry, Queensland on 16 January 1889 under non-standard exposure conditions and is therefore not considered official.

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