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How High Do Monarchs Fly?

Let's Compare!

Do monarchs fly higher than tall trees, skyscrapers, mountain peaks, jet airplanes, and hot air balloons? Use these measurements to make a wall mural — to scale — to show how high monarchs can fly. Include metric units on your mural.

English Units Metric

Units Altitudes of Some Familiar Things

36,000 ft Passenger jet

Cruising altitude (Can you see the jet?)

29,028 ft Highest mountain in the world

Mt. Everest

11,000 ft Highest monarch butterfly ever seen

Seen during fall migration by glider pilot (may fly higher)

10,560 ft Two miles

high

5,280 ft One mile

high

2-4,000 ft Songbird migration

Most occurs at these altitudes.

2,000 ft Highest hot air balloon

Average maximum altitude of hot air balloon flight.

1,483 ft World's tallest building

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

5-600 ft Monarchs disappear (viewing with binoculars)

This is an estimate; depends on binocular magnification, conditions.

500 ft Most birds fly below this level

except during migration

378.1 ft Tallest living tree

2-300 ft Monarchs disappear (viewing with naked eye)

(This is an estimate; it depends on conditions, numbers of monarchs, and the viewers)