The Supermountains That Dwarfed The Himalayas
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The Himalayas are by far the largest and tallest mountain range on Earth. Right now, anyway. As Earth’s continents have slammed into each other for billions of years, they have created supermountain ranges that put the Himalayas to shame. But were they taller? I look into in today’s video.
See my new documentary feature Oldest and Newest Places On Earth on Nebula! Sign up at http://www.nebula.tv/joescott and get 50% off your annual subscription.
The Himalayas are by far the largest and tallest mountain range on Earth. Right now, anyway. As Earth’s continents have slammed into each other for billions of years, they have created supermountain ranges that put the Himalayas to shame. But were they taller? I look into in today’s video.Want to support the channel? Here’s how:
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LINKS LINKS LINKS
https://www.al.com/news/2021/11/ancient-alabama-once-had-mountains-taller-than-everest.html
https://www.mentalfloss.com/geography/3-mountains-taller-everest
https://www.mentalfloss.com/language/pronunciation/were-all-mispronouncing-mount-everests-name?utm_source=gol
https://www.britannica.com/place/Himalayas
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250522-the-first-men-to-conquer-everests-death-zone
https://www.bernardcornwell.net/readingclub/the-great-arcthe-dramatic-tale-of-how-india-was-mapped-and-everest-named/
http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/49094.htm
https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/miyolangsangma-the-goddess-of-inexhaustible-giving.html
https://www.britannica.com/video/why-are-mountains-so-tall/-321447
https://flatearth.ws/latitude-climate
https://www.expeditionsalaska.com/ramblings/denali-summit-denali-national-park-alaska/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkDzSZfWFAQ
https://news.mit.edu/2013/india-joined-with-asia-10-million-years-later-than-previously-thought-0206
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Neoproterozoic-assembly-of-Gondwana-and-its-to-Meert-Lieberman/a976d4af7ed2474c3b7a73551dcf74913ba167ae/figure/1
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220407-how-tall-will-mount-everest-get-before-it-stops-growing
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/geology/the-geology-that-holds-up-the-himalayas-is-not-what-we-thought-scientists-discover
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X25005549#s0015
https://www.britannica.com/science/asthenosphere
https://www.livescience.com/40595-denali-mount-mckinley.html
https://www.geologyin.com/2024/08/tallest-mountains-earth-base-to-peak.html
https://www.summitpost.org/distance-to-the-center-of-the-earth/849764
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mountaineering/comments/2aclrv/chimborazo_how_much_experience_is_needed/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191203133845.htm
https://www.nps.gov/articles/appalachiannplateausprovince.htm
https://www.geosociety.org/gsa-today/february-2013/miocene-rejuvenation-of-topographic-relief-in-the-southern-appalachians
https://www.space.com/supermountains-drove-evolution-on-earth
https://ozgeology.com/en-us/blogs/news/the-nuna-supermountain-earth-s-first-mega-mountain-chain-explained
https://news.wisc.edu/evidence-for-a-geologic-trigger-of-the-cambrian-explosion/
https://geoscience.wisc.edu/people/peters-shanan/
https://www.astronomy.com/science/olympus-mons-mars-mega-volcano-height-formation/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Also_sprach_Zarathustra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheasilvia#/media/File:PIA15667_Vesta_south_pole_oblique.jpg
https://curiositycoloredglasses.com/martian-mountains
https://trek.nasa.gov/vesta/jpl/assets/quickfacts/vesta/quick-facts.html
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
2:07 – Tangent Cam
2:49 – About Everest and Himalayas
4:58 – Supermountain Ranges
11:34 – Earth’s Tectonic Limit
13:19 – Olympus Mons & Rheasilvia
16:30 – The Oldest and Newest Places on Earth
17:48 – Sponsor – Nebula

@agalah408
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Speaking of mispronounced names, I listened to an interview with the guy who invented Pilates and he said that his family name was always pronounced pie-late's and does not rhyme with Socrates, but what would he know.
@seancollins7447
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I know this doesn't count in a way, but happy 20th anniversary of the launch of your YouTube channel
@matthewlofton8465
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Has anyone told you that your documentary voice sounds a lot like Nicolas Cage?
@agalah408
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
There was an old expression "I'm a mountain man and I love mountain women"
@MentalTaxi
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
That was a bad Australian accent, not Kiwi….
@howaboutataste
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I picture Joe Scott to be the Gondwana Superfan.
@casthecreative2270
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
t=258 designer needs a new ruler ….
@potato8770
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
unrelated to vid but happy 20 years on youtube!
@ogelsmogel
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
No, it won't.
@Quartermaster_77
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
With so many deaths, it sould have been named "Mount Ever Rest"
@STEAMerBear
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
7:14 It was NOT over casserole, it was about COFFEE! (Everyone gets that wrong.)
@Donglator
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Maybe the mountains were the friends we made along the way
@DinJaevel
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Just don't tell the loony, that Denali can be the highest mountain in the world, depending on how you measure it.
@darthsirrius
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
"Olympus Mons, it's easy on the knees."
Best new shirt idea I've heard in a while rofl.
@DreadDeimos
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
You totally got me with Olympus Mons segue!
@jliller
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Maybe the real mountains are the obstacles we overcome along the way?
@darthsirrius
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
@2:06 Just like the word "gerrymandering."
That guy's last name was pronounced "Gary,"
So everyone should be saying it as "Garymandering."
@ohkaygoplay
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Have you ever heard the story of the Earth of Theseus?
@bigginsd1
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I love that because Earth goes through periodic supercontinents that scientists have not only named the next supercontinent that will form, but also the supercontinent that will be formed after the next one breaks up before reforming.
@trevorwhite915
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
It was interesting to see you got quoted on one of Simon Whistler’s channels Decoding the Unknown episode the Missing 411!
@stdenysthemartyr
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Olympus Mons isn't a mountain, it's a swelling. The Grapevine on I-5 is steeper!!
@GMCLabs
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
You always measure from the base, and don't forget the thrust angle.
@Jingleheimer_Schmidt
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I knew Chimborazo would come up as soon as I started the video. Thanks American Dad!
@Jingleheimer_Schmidt
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I don't care if I'm pronouncing it wrong, it should be named after a Sherpa anyway. Mount Tenzing sounds pretty cool
@Jingleheimer_Schmidt
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I kinda feels like less of an "ultimate feat" when you have to wait in line behind dozens of other people accomplishing the ultimate feat too. I'm not saying it isn't insanely difficult, it's just that technology has cheapened the accomplishment
@johnnyjolijt2
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
The biggest mountain I ever had inside was the morning after a Cookout.
@driprubies2464
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I’ve come to love that opening tune it means I’m going to learn something interesting!
@atomdent
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Enjoyed the animation they look like Christopher Scoteses' work. I've spent hours watching those tectonic collision animations! Love that stuff!
@Rhea-Ring
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
New earth just dropped. That's cool
@mdr48371
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I love a good your mom joke
@BatManson-q6p
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
You see one mountain, you've seen them all.
@Christina-ge3xr
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
On behalf of Moms everywhere, 😝
@Gahojan
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
What matters are the hills you made along the way.
@TheTheiceking
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
The tallest mountain is the tent I pitch when I wake up
@kuyadenzboholvlog
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Should we measure when hard or when soft?
@davebooth5608
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
“Kill Dozer!” Great movie!
@obadiahjenkins
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Hey Joe, big fan, you rock and keep on rocking.
Question, in all the animations of plate tectonics the movements of the plates all suddenly make directional changes and flow in motions that seem to be influenced by something powerful enough to alter what would seem to be a smooth and linear directional path. Is there historical explanations of why the plates alter course at different times in these models? Maybe magnetic pole shifts or impact events?
@alexv3357
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
Yeah Earth's always releasing new updates and patches, we're on version 4.430.775.444.132 and counting
@trinathebookworm8977
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
I don't know if you'll see this because I'm not a member, but you should do an episode on materials that could theoretically form on super earths
@kalam420
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
OMG he's going Super Duper Mountain!
@MuphDiver
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
3:58 the best YouTube channels don’t have to resort to bullshit ploys to generate comments. See Lockpicking Lawyer who routinely makes <3 minute videos with massive views and comments… real engagement. Every time a video does something like this to garner comments or likes or subscriptions, I think less of them.
@regallag888
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
What a coincidence, this came out the day after I finished reading Liu Cixin's short story "Mountain".
@samanthajo1987
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
You blew my mind!
@terrydavis8451
October 13, 2026 at 12:30 am
NO NO NO NOOOOOOO Mauna Kea sits on top of Kohala, which is what goes to the sea floor. MAUNA LOA is the world's largest mountain because IT is the one that goes from the seafloor to the sky and is the same height as Mauna Kea, depending on how much lava intrusion is going on at Mauna Loa. I have verified this with the USGS at Volcanoes National Park. STOP SPREADING THIS NONSENSE! I DEMAND A CORRECTION!