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What is the highest mountain in the world?
Why is Mount Everest called the world's highest mountain?
Is Mount Everest the highest point on Earth?
How high is Mount Everest?
Oct 28, 2022 · Researchers have measured Mount Everest many times over the past few decades, but the latest assessment, announced in November 2021, puts it at 29,031.69 feet (8,848.86 meters) above sea level,...
- Joe Phelan
Learn about the different ways to measure the height of mountains and the contenders for the highest mountain on Earth. Find out why Mount Everest, Mauna Kea and Chimborazo are all considered the highest in different ways.
Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow height) of 8,848.86 m (29,031 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
- 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft), Ranked 1st
There are at least 108 mountains on Earth with elevations of 7,200 m (23,600 ft; 4.5 mi) or greater above sea level. Of these, 14 are more than 8,000 m (26,000 ft; 5.0 mi). [1] The vast majority of these mountains are located on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian plates in China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan .
Rank [i]Mountain Name (s)Height (rounded) [ii]Prominence (rounded) [iii]1Mount Everest Sagarmatha Chomolungma8,849 metres (29,032 ft) [a]8,849 metres (29,032 ft)28,611 metres (28,251 ft)4,020 metres (13,190 ft)38,586 metres (28,169 ft)3,922 metres (12,867 ft)48,516 metres (27,940 ft)610 metres (2,000 ft)- Overview
- Geology and relief
- Drainage and climate
There is disagreement over the exact elevation of Mount Everest because of variations in snow level, gravity deviation, and light refraction, among other factors. However, in 2020 China and Nepal jointly declared Mount Everest's elevation to be 29,031.69 feet (8,848.86 metres), which was subsequently widely accepted.
Who made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest?
Reinhold Messner completed the first solo ascent of Mount Everest in 1980.
Where is Mount Everest located?
Mount Everest is on the crest of the Great Himalayas of southern Asia. It lies on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Who was the first woman who climbed Mount Everest?
The Himalayan ranges were thrust upward by tectonic action as the Indian-Australian Plate moved northward from the south and was subducted (forced downward) under the Eurasian Plate following the collision of the two plates between about 40 and 50 million years ago. The Himalayas themselves started rising about 25 to 30 million years ago, and the Great Himalayas began to take their present form during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). Everest and its surrounding peaks are part of a large mountain massif that forms a focal point, or knot, of this tectonic action in the Great Himalayas. Information from global positioning instruments in place on Everest since the late 1990s indicates that the mountain continues to move a few inches to the northeast and rise a fraction of an inch each year.
Everest is composed of multiple layers of rock folded back on themselves (nappes). Rock on the lower elevations of the mountain consists of metamorphic schists and gneisses, topped by igneous granites. Higher up are found sedimentary rocks of marine origin (remnants of the ancient floor of the Tethys Sea that closed after the collision of the two plates). Notable is the Yellow Band, a limestone formation that is prominently visible just below the summit pyramid.
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Mount Everest
The barren Southeast, Northeast, and West ridges culminate in the Everest summit; a short distance away is the South Summit, a minor bump on the Southeast Ridge with an elevation of 28,700 feet (8,748 metres). The mountain can be seen directly from its northeastern side, where it rises about 12,000 feet (3,600 metres) above the Plateau of Tibet. The peak of Changtse (24,803 feet [7,560 metres]) rises to the north. Khumbutse (21,867 feet [6,665 metres]), Nuptse (25,791 feet [7,861 metres]), and Lhotse (27,940 feet [8,516 metres]) surround Everest’s base to the west and south.
Everest is shaped like a three-sided pyramid. The three generally flat planes constituting the sides are called faces, and the line by which two faces join is known as a ridge. The North Face rises above Tibet and is bounded by the North Ridge (which meets the Northeast Ridge) and the West Ridge; key features of this side of the mountain include the Great and Hornbein couloirs (steep gullies) and the North Col at the start of the North Ridge. The Southwest Face rises above Nepal and is bounded by the West Ridge and the Southeast Ridge; notable features on this side include the South Col (at the start of the Southeast Ridge) and the Khumbu Icefall, the latter a jumble of large blocks of ice that has long been a daunting challenge for climbers. The East Face—or Kangshung (Kangxung) Face—also rises above Tibet and is bounded by the Southeast Ridge and the Northeast Ridge.
Glaciers cover the slopes of Everest to its base. Individual glaciers flanking the mountain are the Kangshung Glacier to the east; the East, Central, and West Rongbuk (Rongpu) glaciers to the north and northwest; the Pumori Glacier to the northwest; and the Khumbu Glacier to the west and south, which is fed by the glacier bed of the Western Cwm, an enclosed valley of ice between Everest and the Lhotse-Nuptse Ridge to the south. Glacial action has been the primary force behind the heavy and continuous erosion of Everest and the other high Himalayan peaks.
The mountain’s drainage pattern radiates to the southwest, north, and east. The Khumbu Glacier melts into the Lobujya (Lobuche) River of Nepal, which flows southward as the Imja River to its confluence with the Dudh Kosi River. In Tibet the Rong River originates from the Pumori and Rongbuk glaciers and the Kama River from the Kangshung Glacier: both flow into the Arun River, which cuts through the Himalayas into Nepal. The Rong, Dudh Kosi, and Kama river valleys form, respectively, the northern, southern, and eastern access routes to the summit.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world when measured from sea level, but Chimborazo and Mauna Kea are taller when measured from other points. Learn how Earth's shape and location affect mountain height and why sea level is the standard measure.
Oct 19, 2023 · Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth, at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet). Learn about its history, the people who live there, and the challenges of climbing it.
