The highest mountain in the world is not Everest

It turns out that there are two mountains, not one, that surpass Everest in height.

Everest's towering height (8,849 m) makes the famous Himalayan mountain rank as the world's highest, however, in reality this is not the case, according toIFL Science. Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain above sea level, but there are several different parameters for measuring its height. Mauna Kea in Hawai'i is the tallest mountain from base to summit. Meanwhile, because the Earth's crust is slightly thicker at the equator, Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is the highest if its peak is measured from the center of the Earth.

Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano that last erupted 4,500 years ago. The name means "White Mountain" in Hawaiian, Mauna Kea's peak is located 4,205 m above sea level. Although it is the highest mountain in the state, this altitude seems modest compared to Mount Everest. However, the foothills of Mauna Kea often get little attention. Including the foot running deep into the Pacific Ocean, the height of Mauna Kea mountain more than doubles to 10,210 m, far exceeding Mount Everest.

A 75 m glacier once covered the mountain peak during the Ice Age, leading to the formation of lakes at high altitudes. The 50 km wide dome of Mauna Kea is home to the Mauna Kea Observatory, a site that provides some of the most astronomical observations in the world.

According to information provided by the New York Times, the highest mountain in the world is Chimborazo mountain peakbelongs to the Andes range.

Mount Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano in Ecuador. Its last known eruption was around the year 550. This type of volcano is described as having a low slope at the bottom and gradually steepening up the mountain. Chimborazo has a circumference of 78 miles and a diameter of 30 miles. Chimborazo's upper elevations are covered in glaciers that are decreasing in size due to climate change and falling ash from the nearby volcano, Tungurahua. In addition to glaciers, volcanoes are covered with calderas.

Chimborazo peak is 6,268 meters above sea level, compared to Mount Everest (8,848 meters high), it is about 2,580 meters lower. However, if the height of a mountain is defined as the total vertical distance between the foot of the mountain and the top of the mountain, then it is higher than Everest. That is, if calculated from the center of the Earth, the roof of the world must belong to this mountain. The reason, scientists say so, is because Chimborazo is located along the bulge of the equator, making its peak the furthest point on the Earth's surface from the center of the Earth.

According toIndependent, this happens because the Earth is not a perfect sphere but is flat at the poles and slightly bulging at the equator. Mount Chimborazo is located near the equator while Mount Everest is located in the north, so the distance from the center of the Earth to the peak is different.

And follow along Geology, if the definition of mountain height is the total vertical distance between the foot of the mountain and the top of the mountain, there is still another mountain higher than Everest.White Mountain. This is an extinct volcano in the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific region. Mauna Kea last erupted 4,000 to 6,000 years ago.

Its altitude above sea level is 4,205 m, much lower than Everest. However, Mauna Kea is an island, and if we measure the distance from the bottom of the nearby Pacific continental shelf to the top of the island, Mauna Kea is "higher" than Everest. Mauna Kea's bottom is nearly 6,000 meters below sea level, and its top is 4,205 meters above sea level. The distance from the base of the mountain to the summit of Mauna Kea is the sum of these two numbers, about 10,200 m. Meanwhile, the height of Everest calculated from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain is 8,849 m because Everest is located mainly on land. Therefore, Mauna is the "highest" mountain in the world from the base to the peak.