K2 vs Kangchenjunga
K2 and Kangchenjunga are the same size to within half a percent.
Stacking one on the other changes nothing — they match.
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| K2 | 8,611 m | 28,251 ft | elevation |
| Kangchenjunga | 8,586 m | 28,169 ft | elevation |
What the scale shows
K2 and Kangchenjunga are the same size to within half a percent. Both are mountains, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
At a jet's 900 km/h, K2's 8,611 m would take 34 seconds and Kangchenjunga's 8,586 m would take 34 seconds.
Read the rest — 7 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for K2 is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level). The figure for Kangchenjunga is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level).
Crossing them
In people: K2 is 5,065 adults of 1.7 m tall, Kangchenjunga is 5,050.6. By size K2 is 2nd of the 10 mountains on this site and Kangchenjunga is 3rd, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. K2 is given as an elevation, summit elevation above sea level. Kangchenjunga is given as an elevation, summit elevation above sea level. Both are elevation figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Elevation is measured from mean sea level to the summit, not from the base of the mountain. Surveys are revised, so a figure here can differ from an older atlas by a few metres.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, K2 is number 18 from the top and Kangchenjunga is number 19.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: both sit in the upper third of the list.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers K2 in 14 minutes and Kangchenjunga in 14 minutes. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 25 seconds for the larger and 25 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 34 seconds and 34 seconds.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 1× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
K2 measures 8,611 m, which is 28,251 ft or 5.35 miles. Kangchenjunga measures 8,586 m, which is 28,169 ft or 5.34 miles.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, K2 or Kangchenjunga?
They match to within half a percent on the figures used here.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are elevation figures. K2 is summit elevation above sea level; Kangchenjunga is summit elevation above sea level.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.