If you asked a room full of people to name the world's tallest volcano, most would probably shout out "Mauna Kea!" or maybe "Kilimanjaro!" because those are the names that stick from middle school geography. They aren't exactly wrong, but they aren't exactly right either. It’s one of those "it depends on how you measure it" situations that drives geologists crazy and makes for great bar trivia.
But if we are talking about the highest point on Earth that is a volcano—the literal peak elevation above sea level—there is only one king. That crown belongs to Ojos del Salado.
Located in the heart of the Andes, straddling the border between Chile and Argentina, this massive stratovolcano reaches an staggering height of 6,893 meters (that's about 22,615 feet). It is a desolate, wind-whipped, and incredibly dry place. Honestly, it looks more like the surface of Mars than anything you’d find in a travel brochure. It sits in the Atacama Desert region, which explains why, despite being nearly 23,000 feet up, you won’t see the massive glaciers you’d find on other peaks. The air is just too dry for snow to stick around for long.
Why Ojos del Salado takes the top spot
The reason Ojos del Salado is officially the world's tallest volcano comes down to altitude. When we measure the "tallest" or "highest" mountain, the standard metric is almost always elevation above mean sea level. In this specific category, Ojos del Salado wins by a landslide. It is part of the Volcanic Andean Circle, a region dense with high-altitude peaks, but it towers over its neighbors like Monte Pissis and Llullaillaco.
Geography is weird though.
If you measured from the very base of the mountain to the top, Mauna Kea in Hawaii would actually destroy Ojos del Salado. Mauna Kea starts on the ocean floor. If you take a tape measure from the bottom of the Pacific to the summit, it’s over 10,000 meters tall. But since most of that is underwater, it doesn't get the "highest elevation" title. For hikers and mountaineers, the air you’re breathing matters more than how deep the roots go. That’s why Ojos del Salado is the one people obsess over.
Is it actually active?
This is where things get spicy. For a long time, people debated whether Ojos del Salado was even active. It hasn't had a massive, world-altering eruption in recorded history. However, in 1993, researchers noticed some subtle ash flow. There are also active fumaroles—vents that spit out sulfurous gases—near the summit.
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Basically, it’s sleeping, but it’s definitely breathing.
The Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institution classifies it as "Active," even if it isn't currently spewing lava. It’s a stratovolcano, which means it’s built up of layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. These types of volcanoes are known for being explosive, though Ojos del Salado seems content to just sit there and look intimidating for now.
The weirdness of the summit lake
One of the most mind-blowing things about the world's tallest volcano isn't actually the height. It's the water. On the eastern side of the mountain, there is a permanent crater lake. It’s small—only about 100 meters in diameter—but it sits at an elevation of 6,390 meters.
That makes it the highest lake of any kind in the entire world.
Imagine that. At an altitude where most people would be gasping for breath and struggling with basic motor skills, there’s a pool of water just chilling. It’s usually frozen solid because, well, it’s 21,000 feet up in the Andes. But the fact that liquid water can exist there at all during certain seasons is a testament to the unique hydrothermal activity underneath the surface. The volcano’s internal heat keeps it from being a permanent block of ice year-round.
Getting there is a nightmare (but a fun one)
You can't just take a bus to the world's tallest volcano. Most expeditions start in the Chilean town of Copiapó. From there, it’s a long, dusty drive into the Puna de Atacama.
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The environment is brutal.
- The humidity is often near zero.
- Winds can scream at over 100 mph.
- Temperatures at night regularly drop to -20°F.
- The "road" is often just a suggestion through deep sand and volcanic scree.
Because it’s so dry, Ojos del Salado is actually a "non-technical" climb for most of the way. You don't necessarily need ice axes and ropes for the majority of the ascent. You mostly just need a very strong pair of lungs and a lot of patience for the "scree surfing" you'll do on the way down. The very final stretch to the summit, though, involves some dicey rock scrambling that has turned back many exhausted climbers.
The Record-Breaking Drive
Here is a detail most people miss. Ojos del Salado is famous in the off-roading community. Because it doesn't have much snow, people keep trying to drive modified SUVs up it. In 2007, a duo named Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales drove a modified Suzuki Samurai up to 6,688 meters, setting a world record at the time.
Think about that. They drove a car higher than almost any mountain in North America or Europe.
Later, in 2024, a team using Porsche 911s (heavily modified, obviously) broke the record again, reaching an altitude of 6,734 meters. It’s essentially a high-altitude playground for people who want to test the limits of internal combustion and altitude sickness.
Misconceptions about "Tallest" vs "Highest"
We really need to clear up the naming conventions because Google is full of conflicting info.
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- Ojos del Salado: The world's highest volcano by elevation above sea level.
- Mauna Loa: The world's largest volcano by mass and volume. It’s a "shield" volcano that takes up half of the Big Island of Hawaii.
- Mauna Kea: The world's tallest volcano when measured from base to peak (underwater).
- Chimborazo: This one is the "closest to space." Because the Earth bulges at the equator, the summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador is technically the point on Earth’s surface closest to the stars, even though its sea-level elevation is lower than Ojos del Salado.
It’s a bit of a linguistic mess. But if you’re standing on the ground and looking up, Ojos del Salado is the one that reaches the highest into the atmosphere.
Life at the limits
You wouldn't expect much to live at nearly 7,000 meters, but the Andes are full of surprises. Scientists have found mummified remains of mice on the summits of nearby volcanoes. It turns out, some species of leaf-eared mice actually live up there. They are the highest-dwelling mammals on the planet.
How they find food or stay warm in a place where oxygen is 50% thinner than at sea level is still a bit of a biological mystery. It shows that even the world's tallest volcano, as harsh and alien as it seems, is still part of Earth's living ecosystem.
Planning a Visit: What You Need to Know
If you’re actually crazy enough to want to see Ojos del Salado in person, don't just fly to Chile and start walking. You need a permit from the DIFROL (the Chilean government body that handles borders). Since the volcano is right on the line between two countries, they’re a bit picky about who is wandering around up there.
Most people spend at least a week or two "acclimatizing" in the surrounding area. You stay at lower camps, hike up, then come back down to sleep. This "climb high, sleep low" strategy is the only way to keep your brain from swelling—a nasty little side effect of high altitude called HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema).
The best time to go is between December and March. That’s the Southern Hemisphere's summer. Even then, "summer" on Ojos del Salado just means you might not get hit by a literal blizzard every single day.
Practical Steps for Enthusiasts
If you’re fascinated by volcanic peaks and want to explore further, here is how to dive deeper into the world of high-altitude geology:
- Check the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: They keep a live database on Ojos del Salado and its recent seismic activity. It's the gold standard for actual data.
- Study the "Seven Volcanic Summits": Just like the Seven Summits for mountains, there is a challenge to climb the highest volcano on each continent. Ojos del Salado is the "Everest" of this list.
- Explore Google Earth VR: If you can’t afford a flight to Copiapó, the satellite imagery of the Ojos del Salado crater and its high-altitude lake is incredibly detailed. You can see the sulfur staining and the jagged lava flows from your living room.
- Monitor the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX): This telescope is nearby. The same reasons that make the area great for volcanoes (dry air, high altitude) make it the best place on Earth for looking at space.
Ojos del Salado isn't just a pile of rocks. It’s a record-breaking, car-eating, lake-holding monster of a mountain that proves Earth still has plenty of extreme corners left to explore.