What is the highest volcano above sea level in the world?

Ojos del Salado is the highest volcano above sea level in the world.

This dormant complex volcano rises to about 6,893 metres on the border between Chile and Argentina. It stands in the High Andes, near the Puna de Atacama, one of the driest high plateaus on Earth. Its summit is a sprawling volcanic complex rather than a single, perfectly symmetrical cone.

Ojos del Salado is also Chile’s highest mountain and the second-highest summit in the Andes after Aconcagua. Its elevation is sometimes reported slightly differently—figures such as 6,879 and 6,887 metres appear in official and scientific sources—but those measurement differences do not change its status as the world’s highest volcano.

A common mix-up involves Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Measured from its underwater base, Mauna Kea is taller overall, but Ojos del Salado reaches the higher elevation above sea level. The volcano’s last known eruption was around 750 CE, with an uncertainty of roughly 250 years, and its first recorded ascent took place in 1937.