Ben Nevis

Where is Ben Nevis?

Ben Nevis is part of the Grampian Mountains.

You will find it in: United Kingdom.

Summit: 56.797° N, 5.003° W

The story behind it

Ben Nevis began as an enormous volcano that erupted violently and then partly collapsed inward, leaving behind hard volcanic rock at its core that later resisted erosion far better than the softer rock around it, so it now stands taller than everything nearby. Its steep, cliff-lined north face, hidden from the easy tourist path, has some of the best rock and ice climbing routes in Britain, drawing serious mountaineers even though the summit itself can be reached by a well-worn walking trail. The mountain's Gaelic name is often translated as 'venomous mountain', a nod to its notoriously wild and unpredictable weather, which can bring snow and freezing winds even in midsummer. Every year an event called the Ben Nevis Race sees runners sprint from the town of Fort William to the summit and back, some finishing the whole round trip, over 2,600 metres of climbing, in under 90 minutes.

Find it on the globe

Ben Nevis is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.