The list of the world's tallest bridges ranks bridges by the height of their structure. The structural height of a bridge is the maximum vertical distance from the uppermost point of a bridge, such as the top of a bridge tower in a suspension bridge, down to the lowest visible point of a bridge, where its piers emerge from the surface of the ground or water. Structural height should not be confused with deck height, which measures the maximum vertical drop distance from the bridge deck (the road bed of a bridge) down to the ground or water surface beneath the bridge span. A separate list of the world's highest bridges ranks bridges by deck height.
The rankings of the world's tallest and highest bridges differ in part because some of the highest bridges are built across deep valleys or gorges. The Duge Bridge, connecting the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces of China, is a Cable-stayed bridge that spans a deep river gorge. The bridge's two towers, built on either rim of the gorge, are not tall enough for the bridge structure to be classed as the world's tallest, but thanks to the depth of the river gorge, the deck height of the Duge Bridge is at least 565 m (1,854 ft), making the bridge the highest in the world. The Millau Viaduct, a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Tarn River Valley in southern France, is a bridge that is both tall (in structural height) and high (in deck height). The viaduct's bridge deck soars 270 m (890 ft) above the valley floor, placing the bridge among the twenty highest bridges in the world. Unlike the Duge Bridge, the tallest of the Millau Viaduct's towers (also referred to as mast pylons) is situated near the valley floor and gives the Millau Viaduct a maximum structural height of 343 m (1,125 ft), making it the tallest bridge in the world.
Other references are, as a principle, located in the articles about the bridges.