South America
South America features the Andes, which formed from a significant uplift of continental rock. As the world's longest mountain range, the Andes run approximately 4,350 miles along South America's Pacific Coast from the continent's northern end to its southern tip. At 22,929 feet, Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina is the Andes' and the Southern Hemisphere's highest mountain. South America has 204 volcanoes, of which 122 are glacier-clad stratovolcanoes.
Australian Mountains
Australia has the lowest average elevation among the seven continents. The continent's highest point, Mount Kosciuszko (7,314 feet), is located in the Great Dividing Range. This region separates Australia's east coast from the inland and includes the Blue Mountains. Australia also features rock structures such as Mount Augustus, which rises 3,626 feet above sea level and is clearly visible for approximately 100 miles.
New Zealand
New Zealand consists principally of two islands. Mountain ranges cover approximately 60 percent of the South Island, which has 23 named peaks exceeding 9,800 feet high and 3,000 glaciers. Mt. Cook (12,316 feet), New Zealand's highest peak, is located on the South Island. On the North Island, mountain ranges account for 20 percent of land cover. Only three mountains on the North Island exceed 6,500 feet. All of these are volcanoes. The North Island also has a range of smaller mountains to the east of the volcanoes.
Africa
Africa sits on a stationary crustal plate and did not experience the collisions with other plates that form mountains. As a result, Africa below the equator does not have a mountain range. However, east Africa is home to 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. Due to its height, Kilimanjaro has a glacier near its peak even though the mountain sits only three degrees south of the Equator.
Antarctica
Mountains in Antarctica developed from the uplifting of the Earth's crust and ice. The Transantarctic Mountain range divides the continent, runs approximately 2,175 miles along the boundary of two tectonic plates from the Pacific to Atlantic Oceans. Peaks in the Transantarctics reach almost 2.5 miles high. Antarctica also has subglaciers, or "ghost mountains," which form as large amounts of water refreeze on the underside of ice sheets. The Gamburstev Subglacial Mountains are covered by up to 1.8 miles of ice.