What counts as a mountain?

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I'm at the top of Mount Evans, more than 14,000 feet - 4.3km - above sea level. This is definitely a mountain: but why doesn't the smaller summit next to it also count? Let's talk about prominence. (Just not for too long, I'm getting low on oxygen.)

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Please keep any "getting high in Colorado" jokes in this thread. (And yes, I forgot to tuck away my headphone wire - that's so I can listen to the microphone output and catch any wind noise. The wind was brisk up there!)

TomScottGo
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I made it a tradition to once a year climb 天保山, Mount Tenpō in Ōsaka. If you managed to make it to the summit you could get a commemorative "climbing certificate" from the Mount Tenpō Mountaineering Club (which also had a Mount Tenpō Rescue Team). Sadly it seems that is no longer possible.

Mount Tenpō, which is indeed officially recognized as a "mountain" by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan ... has an elevation of 4.5 meters.

drmr_music
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Did the people who checked your script read the bit where you mention the people who check your script?

kylenetherwood
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when is a waterfall a waterfall and not a steep river?

billybilly
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Love your work.
You're taking this channel to new heights.

matthewfennell
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As someone who studies geography, i can confirm us humans pretty much "choose" what is a mountain.
Prominence is a way to justify out thinking. But it's a hard concept to nail down.

killercaos
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For anyone that is unaware too, when Tom mentions Elbert being the tallest mountain, it is actually in a constant battle for being the tallest with Mount Massive, a summit visible across the range from the top of Elbert. Each mountain has a pile of rocks near the summit that hikers who make it up can place a rock on to keep the “battle” going :D

ast
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I hope the answer isn't "something bigger than a hill"

Hdtjdjbszh
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"What counts as a mountain?"
Anything higher than me. Sincerely, a Dutchman.

peperoni_pepino
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Having gone there twice, I feel like Pike's Peak might have to be the second most American mountain. It's another of our "fourteeners, " and it has a train that runs all the way up to the summit. The coolest part is that, since the incline is so steep (up to a 9% grade!), the train has to use special extra gear-shaped wheels whose "teeth" perfectly mesh with the "teeth" on a special extra rail. Otherwise it would slide backwards! It's called a cog railway, if you're interested.

RCSDominoToppling
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I did this hike. We didn't know there was a road at the top and after hours of scrambling over rocks it gave us a good laugh.

arcosin
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Damm I was up there just a few weeks ago; we should have met up!

theCodyReeder
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"The world's most American mountain... because there is a road to the top of it."

Hahaha, that was great. Please never stop making videos!

ImSquiggs
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youtubers: *sits in their rooms and films videos*
tom: *climbs a mountain for a 3 minute video*

Abby_Liu
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The Colorado 14ers are ranked based on a 300-ft prominence rule, oddly enough, which is actually more than plenty

icebergmaier
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When I grew up in Kenya, anything under about 9, 000 ft was a hill. Now, in eastern Canada, we have 1200 ft mountains.

MichaelSteeves
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"What be countin' as a mountain?"
-Cap'n Tom Scott

A_Wild_Yeengirl
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This is sort of similar to measuring the coastline problem. Depending on how you define "a mountain" you get different results, just like the length of the coastline varies with the stick you use to measure it.

laurilehtiaho
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This is by far the best and easiest explanation of prominence I've ever seen. Thanks, Tom!

hebl
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A mountain should probably require a minimum height, like 400m or so, and then have a prominence as a percentage of it's height. That's what makes sense to me.

DraGon