A Lilliputian Mountain and an Invisible Ridge: Two Record-Breaking Mountains That Can Be Easily Missed Even When Staring Directly (12 photos + 1 video)

The tiny mound just beyond the fork in the road is officially the smallest mountain in the world.





It's part of Australia's Terrick Terrick National Park. Mount Whycheprof rises 148 meters above sea level. Quite a height for a tiny mountain.



Wycheprof

However, it rises only 43 meters above the surrounding plain. And since the climb to the summit is gentle, almost imperceptible, it is practically impossible to tell where the mountain even begins.





Wycheprof

The mountain is located directly within the town of the same name, Wycheprof, which, in turn, is nestled on the southwestern slopes of this hill. The town was officially founded in 1875, although the first settlements appeared there as early as 1846.



Wycheprof

The town's name comes from the Aboriginal language: "witchi-poorp" translates as "grass on a hill" – a direct reference to Mount Wycheprof, which rises to the east of the highway.



Wycheprof

And here an even more daring contender enters the picture. Perhaps the title of smallest mountain in the world should go to the eroded remains of a volcanic cone on the flat plains of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. However, because this feature has multiple peaks, it is often called the smallest mountain range in the world.



Wycheprof

These remnants are Sutter Buttes. They rise 610 meters above the surrounding agricultural plains and were once an active volcano.



Wycheprof

It formed between 1.6 and 1.4 million years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch. The central part of the Buttes consists of lava domes, which form when viscous lava erupts to the surface in layers, with each new layer increasing the dome's height.



Sutter Buttes

Around the cone stretches a debris belt—fragmented material left behind by periodic eruptions of lava domes. This belt extends approximately 16–18 kilometers in a circle from the center.



Sutter Buttes

And between the central core and this belt, a veritable moat has formed. It was formed by the erosion of old sedimentary rocks that lay beneath volcanic ones.



Sutter Buttes

Mount Whycheprof still stands by the road in Victoria. Almost anyone can reach the summit. The mountain is in a public area, and a modest signpost marks it. It's not a tourist park, but a pasture, but the locals are friendly to visitors.



Wycheprof

But the Sutter Buttes are a different story. Almost the entire ridge is privately owned, and it's inaccessible without a guide. However, several local companies offer paid tours with licensed guides (usually in the spring and fall). This is the only legal way to see the lava domes and mysterious moat of the smallest mountain range on Earth.



Wycheprof