Mountain
Heights of mountains are typically measured above sea level. Using this metric, Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, at . There are at least 100 mountains with heights of over above sea level, all of which are located in central and southern Asia. The highest mountains above sea level are generally not the highest above the surrounding terrain. There is no precise definition of surrounding base, but Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro and Nanga Parbat are possible candidates for the tallest mountain on land by this measure. The bases of mountain islands are below sea level, and given this consideration Mauna Kea ( above sea level) is the world's tallest mountain and volcano, rising about from the Pacific Ocean floor.
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in California, as well as the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada—with an elevation of . It is in Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at below sea level. The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.