Mont Blanc vs Matterhorn
Mont Blanc (4,805.59 m) is 1.07× the size of Matterhorn (4,478 m).
Matterhorn is 93% of the height of Mont Blanc. The gap between them is 328 m (1,075 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mont Blanc | 4,805.59 m | 15,766 ft | elevation |
| Matterhorn | 4,478 m | 14,692 ft | elevation |
What the scale shows
Mont Blanc (4,805.59 m) is 1.07× the size of Matterhorn (4,478 m). The gap between them is 328 m (1,075 ft). Both are mountains, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 93% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
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What each figure means
The figure for Mont Blanc is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level). The figure for Matterhorn is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level).
Crossing them
At a jet's 900 km/h, Mont Blanc's 4,805.59 m would take 19 seconds and Matterhorn's 4,478 m would take 18 seconds.
In people: Mont Blanc is 2,827 adults of 1.7 m tall, Matterhorn is 2,634.1. By size Mont Blanc is 6th of the 10 mountains on this site and Matterhorn is 7th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. Mont Blanc is given as an elevation, summit elevation above sea level. Matterhorn 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, Mont Blanc is number 22 from the top and Matterhorn is number 23. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
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.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 1.07× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, Mont Blanc would have about 1.15× the surface or footprint of Matterhorn, and about 1.24× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. Matterhorn is drawn 93% as tall as Mont Blanc, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 86.8%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
A sprinter holding about 10 m/s covers Mont Blanc in 8 minutes and Matterhorn in 7.5 minutes. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 14 seconds for the larger and 13 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 19 seconds and 18 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 1.07× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
Mont Blanc measures 4,805.59 m, which is 15,766 ft or 2.99 miles. Matterhorn measures 4,478 m, which is 14,692 ft or 2.78 miles.
The difference between them is 328 m (1,075 ft). In kilometres the smaller one is 4.48 against 4.81, so the 1.07× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, Mont Blanc or Matterhorn?
Mont Blanc is bigger. At 4,805.59 m it is 1.07× the size of Matterhorn, which is 4,478 m.
How many times does Matterhorn fit along Mont Blanc?
Less than twice: Matterhorn is 93% of the size of Mont Blanc, so one fits with 328 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are elevation figures. Mont Blanc is summit elevation above sea level; Matterhorn is summit elevation above sea level.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, Mont Blanc is about 2,827 people tall and Matterhorn is about 2,634.1. The gap of 328 m is 193 people.
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.