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Googling for steepest island in the world leads numerous pages claiming that La Palma is the steepest island in the world. Having recently been there, I am inclined to believe it, but it appears the sources just copy each other, without any citing a reliable source. I can imagine many ways to define steepest island in the world. Is there any reliable source to support this claim, or is it just a touristic claim not very well supported?

gerrit
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  • http://www.windramart.com.au/images/trips/steep_island.jpg – ChrisW Jan 08 '13 at 01:03
  • @ChrisW Although the edges of that one look steep, the summit looks like it may be a quite flat surface, like a table mountain. – gerrit Jan 08 '13 at 09:08
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    Wouldn't the steepest island simply have the highest ratio of max elevation to lateral size, regardless of its shape? – jdstankosky Jan 10 '13 at 21:38
  • @jdstankosky I wouldn't define it as such. Consider [sin(x) vs. sin(10x)](https://www.google.com/search?q=sin%28x%29%2C+sin%2810*x%29); I would consider an island looking like the latter much steeper than like the former, even if the maximum elevation is the same. – gerrit Jan 10 '13 at 22:10
  • [Lot's Wife](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot%27s_Wife_%28crag%29) looks even steeper, but whether it's really an island may be debatable. – gerrit Jan 11 '13 at 12:58
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    I don't think this question is answerable without defining steep. A very quick google shows many islands that have much steeper sides, but flatter tops - is that steeper or less steep? – Rory Alsop Feb 27 '13 at 19:06
  • @gerrit sin(10x) has a much higher *ratio* of "elevation" (amplitude) to "lateral size" (period) - 10 times that of sin(x). – KutuluMike Feb 27 '13 at 20:17
  • @MichaelEdenfield Ok, I'm not sure how "lateral size" is defined. If it's the period then it's obviously true, I was thinking of the size as it would appear on a map (i.e. projected on the Earth surface). – gerrit Feb 27 '13 at 21:57
  • Fogo (cabverde) is higher (beating La Palma by 403m) and smaller (beating La Palma by 253km2) So ? It must be something about what is under sea level as well... or ? –  Feb 27 '13 at 17:47
  • There are other islands that reach higher altitudes with a smaller surface area, like the aforementioned Fogo or Rishiri in Japan, among others, but La Palma is essentially a long ridge which reaches 2400 m in the north and 2000 again in the south, while the central portion is still a good 1500 m. It drops off very sharply into the sea, especially in the geographically more recent south. There is practically no flat land anywhere on the island, apart from the gently sloping Aridane valley. So I'd say it's definitely a good candidate for steepest island overall, but it's probably impossible to – Defasovus Mar 03 '13 at 13:51

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Wrote a travel blog post titled The Steepest Island in The World? about it after visiting La Palma. With info from the suggestions here and ran automated calculations against a typographical world map.

The way they define steep is vertical distance traveled versus horizontal distance while crossing the entire island from coast to coast, obviously maximizing the line (route) for steepness. The caldera really helps here. So it is indeed be the steepest island in the world under this criteria, if you discard islands smaller than 10 km wide.

Conor
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  • Hi Conor, I think this is quite interesting, but the requirements for an answer on this particular website are unusual and quite stringent. I think it would be very welcome as a commentary, though! – gerrit Mar 05 '16 at 18:20
  • Thanks Gerrit, Skeptics, they want 100% confirmation. I do think the second paragraph is as close to answer and anyone can get on this particular question. Edited the answer to make it unambiguous. – Conor Mar 06 '16 at 10:57