Mount Kosciuszko vs Ben Nevis
Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) is 1.66× the size of Ben Nevis (1,345 m).
Ben Nevis is 60% of the height of Mount Kosciuszko. The gap between them is 883 m (2,897 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Kosciuszko | 2,228 m | 7,310 ft | elevation |
| Ben Nevis | 1,345 m | 4,413 ft | elevation |
What the scale shows
Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) is 1.66× the size of Ben Nevis (1,345 m). The gap between them is 883 m (2,897 ft). Both are mountains, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 60% 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 Mount Kosciuszko is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level). The figure for Ben Nevis is its elevation (summit elevation above sea level).
Crossing them
At a jet's 900 km/h, Mount Kosciuszko's 2,228 m would take 8.9 seconds and Ben Nevis's 1,345 m would take 5.4 seconds.
In people: Mount Kosciuszko is 1,311 adults of 1.7 m tall, Ben Nevis is 791.2. By size Mount Kosciuszko is 9th of the 10 mountains on this site and Ben Nevis is 10th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. Mount Kosciuszko is given as an elevation, summit elevation above sea level. Ben Nevis 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, Mount Kosciuszko is number 25 from the top and Ben Nevis is number 26. 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 1.66× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, Mount Kosciuszko would have about 2.74× the surface or footprint of Ben Nevis, and about 4.55× 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. Ben Nevis is drawn 60% as tall as Mount Kosciuszko, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 36.4%, 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 Mount Kosciuszko in 3.7 minutes and Ben Nevis in 2.2 minutes. Sound, at about 343 m/s in air, takes 6.5 seconds for the larger and 3.9 seconds for the smaller. A jet cruising at 900 km/h needs 8.9 seconds and 5.4 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 1.66× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
Mount Kosciuszko measures 2,228 m, which is 7,310 ft or 1.38 miles. Ben Nevis measures 1,345 m, which is 4,413 ft.
The difference between them is 883 m (2,897 ft). In kilometres the smaller one is 1.35 against 2.23, so the 1.66× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, Mount Kosciuszko or Ben Nevis?
Mount Kosciuszko is bigger. At 2,228 m it is 1.66× the size of Ben Nevis, which is 1,345 m.
How many times does Ben Nevis fit along Mount Kosciuszko?
Less than twice: Ben Nevis is 60% of the size of Mount Kosciuszko, so one fits with 883 m to spare.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are elevation figures. Mount Kosciuszko is summit elevation above sea level; Ben Nevis is summit elevation above sea level.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, Mount Kosciuszko is about 1,311 people tall and Ben Nevis is about 791.2. The gap of 883 m is 519 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.