These two mountains are taller than Mt. Everest!
All of you have read in your textbooks that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. What if we told you that it’s it is both true and false? This is confusing, right? Well, let’s clear the air for you. Mount Everest, a mountain peak in the Himalayan Range, situated halfway between Nepal and Tibet, is 8,848 metres (29,032) from the sea level. This is the highest point on earth from the sea level. However, these numbers vary depending on where the measurement is taken from.
The Tibetan name for Mount Everest is Chomolungma, which means ‘Mother Goddess of the World’. Mount Everest was named after George Everest (born 1790, died 1866), a former Surveyor General of India, in the 19th century. It was first regarded as the world’s highest peak in 1851.
Today, we will tell you about two competitors which are taller than Mount Everest on two different parameters.
Mauna Kea
Technically speaking, the Big Island of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano is the rightful owner of title of the highest mountain this honour. It is called ‘the tallest volcano on Earth’. Mauna Kea is 1 million years old and lies in the Pacific Ocean.
Without a doubt, the highest point of Everest is higher than Mauna Kea. The part of Mauna Kea that is above sea level is less than half the height of Everest at 4205 metres (13,796 feet). However, nearly half the mountain is below sea level. If we measure the entire mountain from top to its base, which is referred to as the ’dry prominence’, Mauna Kea is 500 metres (1640 feet) taller than Everest. Mauna’s whole height is about 9330 metres (30,610 feet), beginning from its very foot where it emerges from the Earth’s crust. Since Everest is not submerged, its dry prominence is equal to its height above sea level. But certainly, if the two mountains were placed side by side on a flat surface, Mauna Kea would unquestionably be taller. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Chimborazo
Chimborazo is an inactive volcano in Ecuador (located on the north-western edge of South America) that rises to a height of 6,263 metres (20,549 feet) above the sea level. It is now agreed that Mount Everest is the highest peak and Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain. However, Chimborazo is the farthest point from the centre of the Earth and, therefore, the highest mountain in terms of distance from the centre of the Earth. How can all this possibly make sense? Let us explain.
Earth is not a perfect sphere but slightly elliptical in shape, slightly thicker near the middle at the Equator. The height of Chimborazo is 6,268 meters (20,564 feet) above sea level, and it is quite close to the Equator. However, Chimborazo's summit is more than 2,072 metres (6,800 feet) further from the centre of the Earth than Everest's peak because of Earth's bulge. While Everest is 3965 miles from the centre of the Earth, Chimbarozo is 3967 miles. As a result, Chimborazo is much higher than Everest!