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List of cliffs by continent

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{{more citations needed|date=July 2021}}

The following is an incomplete list of cliffs of the world.

Asia

=Above sea=

=Above land=

Europe

=Above sea=

=Above land=

North America

File:Mount_Thor.jpg, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, commonly regarded as the highest vertical drop on Earth]]

File:Yosemite_El_Capitan.jpg]]

File:NotchPeakSunset.JPG at sunset]]

File:Ketil_West.JPG west face in Tasermiut, Greenland]]

Several big granite faces in the Arctic region vie for the title of 'highest vertical drop on Earth', but reliable measurements are not always available. The possible contenders include (measurements are approximate):

  • Mount Thor, Baffin Island, Canada; {{convert|1370|m|ft}} total; the top {{convert|480|m|ft}} are overhanging. This is commonly regarded as being the largest vertical drop on Earth [https://iana.org]{{Cite web|last=Jennings|first=Ken|title=Meet Canada's Mount Thor: The World's Steepest, Tallest Cliff|url=https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2013-06-10/mount-thor-canada-maphead-ken-jennings|access-date=2021-04-02|website=Condé Nast Traveler|date=10 June 2013 |language=en-us}} at {{convert|1250|m|ft}}.
  • The sheer north face of Polar Sun Spire, Baffin Island, rises 4,300 ft above the flat frozen fjord, although the lower portion of the face breaks from the vertical wall with a series of ledges and buttresses.{{cite web|title=Polar Sun Spire|url=http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/152417/polar-sun-spire.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202023348/http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/152417/Polar-Sun-Spire.html|archive-date=2008-12-02|access-date=2008-07-31|publisher=SummitPost.Org}}
  • Ketil's and its neighbor Ulamertorsuaq's west faces in Tasermiut, Greenland have been reported as over 1,000 m high.{{cite web|title=Climbing in Tasermiut|url=http://www.bigwall.dk/galleri/klatring/tasermiu/pages-uk/uk05keti.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205153142/http://www.bigwall.dk/galleri/klatring/tasermiu/pages-uk/uk05keti.htm|archive-date=2008-12-05|access-date=2008-09-02|publisher=bigwall.dk}}{{cite web|year=1986|title=The American Alpine Journal|url=http://www.americanalpineclub.org/AAJO/pdfs/1986/175_canada_greenland_aaj1986.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028235449/http://www.americanalpineclub.org/AAJO/pdfs/1986/175_canada_greenland_aaj1986.pdf|archive-date=October 28, 2008|access-date=2008-09-02}}[http://www.mountainsport.dk/expe_exi.html The Summer 1998 Slovak Expedition to Greenland (Jamesák International)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092840/http://www.mountainsport.dk/expe_exi.html|date=2016-03-04}} Another relevant cliff in Greenland is Agdlerussakasit's Thumbnail.Jon Roberts: Agdlerussakasit (1750 m), east face, new route on east face; The Butler (900 m) and Mark (900 m), first ascents. American Alpine Journal (AAJ) 2004, pp. 266–267

Other notable cliffs include:

  • Mount Asgard, Baffin Island, Canada; vertical drop of about 1,200 m (4,000 ft).
  • El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California, United States; 900 m (3,000 ft)
  • Toroweap (a.k.a. Tuweep), Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States; 900 m (3,000 ft)
  • Painted Wall in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, United States; 685 m (2,250 ft)
  • Northwest Face of Half Dome, near El Capitan, California, United States; 1,444 m (4,737 ft) total, vertical portion about 610 m (2,000 ft)
  • The west face of Notch Peak in the House Range of southwestern Utah, U.S.; a carbonate rock pure vertical drop of about 670 m (2,200 ft), with {{convert|4450|ft|m|0}} from the top of the cliff to valley floor (bottom of the canyon below the notch)
  • East face of the West Temple in Zion National Park, Utah, United States believed to be the tallest sandstone cliff in the world,{{cite web|title=Geology Fieldnotes|url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/zion/index.cfm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522020351/http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/zion/index.cfm|archive-date=2013-05-22|access-date=2010-11-28|publisher=National Park Service}} 670 m
  • All faces of Devils Tower, Wyoming, United States, 195 m
  • Faces of Shiprock, New Mexico, United States, 400 m
  • Cap Éternité of Saguenay River, Quebec, Canada, 347 m
  • The North Face of North Twin Peak, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada, 1,200 m
  • Raftsmen's Acropolis, a rock face of the Montagne des Érables, Quebec, Canada, 800 m
  • Rockwall, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada, 30 km of mostly unbroken cliffs up to 900 m{{cite web|title=Backpacking - Kootenay National Park|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/kootenay/activ/arrierepays-backcountry|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929020835/https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/kootenay/activ/arrierepays-backcountry|archive-date=2019-09-29|access-date=2020-09-23|publisher=National Park Service}}
  • All walls of the Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, up to 500 m
  • Calvert Cliffs along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, U.S. 25 m
  • Mount Siyeh, Glacier National Park (U.S.) north face, {{convert|1270|m|abbr=on}}
  • Longs Peak Diamond, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, United States, 400 m
  • Royal Gorge cliffs, Colorado, United States, 350 m
  • Doublet Peak, southwest face, Wind River Range, Wyoming, United States, 370 m
  • Big Sandy Mountain, east face buttress, Wind River Range, Wyoming, US, 550 m
  • Temple Peak, east face, Wind River Range, Wyoming, US,400 m
  • East Temple Peak, north face, Wind River Range, Wyoming, US, 450 m
  • Uncompahgre Peak, northeast face, San Juan Range, Colorado, US, 275 m (550 m rise above surrounding plateau)
  • Grand Teton, north face Teton Range, Wyoming, US {{convert|760|m|abbr=on}}
  • Ättestupan Cliff, northern side of Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord, Greenland {{convert|1300|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web|title=Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland|url=https://data.geus.dk/geusmap/?mapname=stednavnedb#baslay=baseMapGl&optlay=&extent=549832.8357720698,8582739.868248867,622444.3190166993,8680765.370629115&layers=grl_geus_north_east_higgins_map,grl_ne_higgins_placenames,grl_ne_placenames&filter_1=txt_search.part%3D%26placename%3D&filter_2=txt_search.part%3D%26placename%3D|access-date=20 September 2019|publisher=Geological Survey of Denmark}}

South America

File:Salto_Angel_from_Raton.JPG from Isla Ratón, Venezuela.]]

Africa

=Above sea=

  • Faneque, Gran Canaria, Spain, 1,027 m above Atlantic Ocean
  • Karbonkelberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, {{convert|653|m|ft|abbr=on}} above Hout Bay, Atlantic Ocean
  • Los Gigantes, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, {{convert|637|m|ft|abbr=on}} above Atlantic Ocean
  • Chapman's Peak, Western Cape, South Africa, {{convert|596|m|ft|abbr=on}} above Atlantic Ocean
  • Anaga's Cliffs, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, {{convert|592|m|ft|abbr=on}} above Atlantic Ocean
  • Cabo Girão, Madeira, Portugal, 589 m above Atlantic Ocean
  • Cape Hangklip, Western Cape, South Africa, {{convert|453.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} above False Bay, Atlantic Ocean
  • Cape Point, Western Cape, South Africa, {{convert|249|m|ft|abbr=on}} above Atlantic Ocean

=Above land=

  • Drakensberg Amphitheatre, South Africa {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}} above base, {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} long. The Tugela Falls, the world's second tallest waterfall, falls {{convert|948|m|ft|abbr=on}} over the edge of the cliff face.
  • Mount Meru, Tanzania Caldera Cliffs, {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}}
  • Tsaranoro, Madagascar, {{convert|700|m|ft|abbr=on}} above base
  • Karambony, Madagascar, {{convert|380|m|ft|abbr=on}} above base.
  • Innumerable peaks in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa are considered cliff formations. The Drakensberg Range is regarded, together with Ethiopia's Simien Mountains, as one of the two finest erosional mountain ranges on Earth. Because of their near-unique geological formation, the range has an extraordinarily high percentage of cliff faces making up its length, particularly along the highest portion of the range.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} This portion of the range is virtually uninterrupted cliff faces, ranging from {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=on}} to {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height for almost {{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Of all, the "Drakensberg Amphitheatre" (mentioned above) is most well known.{{citation needed|date=March 2014}} Other notable cliffs include the Trojan Wall, Cleft Peak, Injisuthi Triplets, Cathedral Peak, Monk's Cowl, Mnweni Buttress, etc. The cliff faces of the Blyde River Canyon, still part of the Drakensberg, may be over {{convert|800|m|ft|abbr=on}}, with the main face of the Swadini Buttress approximately {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall.

Oceania

=Above sea=

File:John Gully - Milford Sound - Sarjeant Gallery.jpg

  • The Lion, New Zealand, 1,302 m above Milford Sound (drops from approx 1,280 m to sea level in a very short distance)
  • The Elephant, New Zealand, has cliffs falling approx 1,180m into Milford Sound, and a 900 m drop in less than 300 m horizontally
  • Kalaupapa, Hawaii, 1,010 m above Pacific Ocean
  • Great Australian Bight
  • Zuytdorp Cliffs in Western Australia
  • Ball's Pyramid, a sea stack 562 m high and only 200 m across at its base
  • The Twelve Apostles (Victoria). A series of sea stacks in Australia, ranging from approximately 50 to 70 m above the Bass Strait
  • Tasman National Park, Tasmania, has 300 m dolerite sea cliffs dropping directly to the ocean in columnar form
  • Lovers Leap, Highcliff, and The Chasm, on Otago Peninsula, New Zealand, all 200 to 300 m above the Pacific Ocean

=Above land=

  • Mount Banks in the Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia: west of its saddle there is a 490 m fall within 100 m horizontally.{{cite book|title=Mount Wilson 1:25000 Map|date=May 2014|publisher=NSW Govt}}

References

{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliffs by continent}}

Category:Geography-related lists