The column "Col" in the chart below denotes the highest elevation to which one must descend from a peak in order to reach peaks with higher elevations; note that the elevation of any peak is the sum of its prominence and col.
The above European Top 10 list excludes peaks on lands and islands that are part of European countries but are outside or on the limits of the
European continent and its
tectonic and
geographic boundaries, like
Teide (with prominence of 3,715 m, 12,188 ft), Tenerife Island, Spain;
Belukha peak of the
Altai Mountains in Russia (with prominence of 3,343 m, 10,968 ft); and
Piton des Neiges (with prominence of 3,069 m, 10,069 ft),
Réunion, France.
For ease of reference, the complete list below is divided into sections. Islands in the
Atlantic, like
Azores and
Iceland, the
Arctic archipelagos of
Jan Mayen,
Svalbard, and
Novaya Zemlya,
MediterraneanSicily and the other Mediterranean islands, territories of European countries, have also been included as sections (with the exception of
Greenland), and are taken into account for the Top 10 List, although being somehow on the
European boundaries.
Mount Etna active volcano is somehow on, or just outside the boundaries of the
Eurasian Plate, resting on the subduction boundary where the
African tectonic plate is being pushed under the Eurasian plate, but geographically is part of
Europe, and is also included in the Top 10 list.
The sections include peaks on the
African Plate, the
Canary Islands and
Madeira, and some peaks on or just outside the
European boundaries located in the
Caucasus Mountains (
European Russia and the
Caucasus states) and the
Ural Mountains, both forming the geographic boundaries between the Europe and
Asia, but those last mentioned aren't included in the Top 10 List.
Mount Narodnaya, the highest peak in the Ural Mountains, is on the main watershed ridge, so on the limits of Europe, and cannot be considered a strictly European mountain and peak.
Mount Elbrus is a dormant
stratovolcano, forming part of the Caucasus Mountains, and geographically it is laying entirely in Europe and Russia, 20 km (12 mi) north of the main
ridge and
watershed of the
Greater Caucasus, considered as the one that is forming the limits of Europe, that also forms great part of the length of the border between
Russia and
Georgia.[1]Mount Bazardüzü, also in the Caucasus, has a prominence of 2,454 metres (8,051 ft), but is located on the
boundary between Europe and Asia, on the border between Russia and Azerbaijan, so it cannot be considered a strictly European mountain and peak.
The
boundary between Asia and Europe is following the main ridge of the
Caucasus Mountains, also forming most of the border between Georgia and Russia. From the above listed 8 peaks, four (Mount Elbrus, Dykh-Tau, Dyultydag, Gora Addala Shukgelmezr) are entirely in Europe, and four are on the border itself and so are both in Asia and Europe.