According to conventional facts, Mount Everest is the highest peak on Earth, but the truth is a little more nuanced.
Business
Despite all this, Mount Everest could not be the highest peak on Earth, depending on how one measures a mountain. A few distinct mountains are vying for the term, and they are all able to proclaim the file on a technicality. You’re at the right spot if you’re looking for a great prior “um, really” truth. Explore the content below to learn more about Hawaii’s dormant volcano, Mauna Kea, and the reasons it may one day claim the title of the world’s highest peak.
Is Mount Everest the highest peak in the world?
The highest mountain above sea level in the world is Mount Everest. With a peak elevation of 8,849 meters above sea level, it is the tallest landmass on Earth. In technical terms, however, it is not the highest peak on Earth for those who consider mountains that begin below sea level. That being said, Mount Everest is the highest peak that is reachable by road (though we do not advise it, since over 300 people have lost their lives trying to reach its top).
Which mountain is the highest in the world?
From base to summit, Mauna Kea, a long-dormant volcano in Hawaii, USA, is the highest mountain on Earth. At approximately 10,205 meters (33481 feet) in elevation, it surpasses Mount Everest’s height of 8,849 meters (29032 feet). The Pacific Ocean encloses more than half of Mauna Kea. The mountain is 4,205 meters above sea level and almost 6,000 meters below it. Approximately 1.4 kilometers higher overall than Everest is Mauna Kea.
Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea. Image credit rating: Getty
The American Geological Survey states that while Mauna Kea has not erupted in almost 4,500 years, it “is prone to erupt once more.” However, the “delicate astronomical telescopes… would, as a by-product of their stargazing, detect minute floor tilts, presumably foretelling a future eruption” since it is home to the largest astronomical observatory on Earth. With a total height of 9.17 km (5 km underwater), Hawaii’s active volcano Mauna Loa is the second-tallest mountain on Earth, based mostly on base-to-peak measurements.
It all depends on how you measure things, however, as Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is the third peak that may be considered the highest on Earth. The equator’s outward bulge and the Earth’s partial sphericality are the causes of this.
Extraordinary in this way
One more dormant volcano, Chimborazo, is located in Ecuador’s Andes and rises to a height of 6,310 meters above sea level. Chimborazo is officially the highest peak closest to the sun since it is just one degree south of the equator, yet it is still closer than any other mountain.
Thus, Chimborazo may be proclaimed the highest peak on Earth if measured from the planet’s center. However, we often choose to measure from either above sea level or from base to peak rather than from the planet’s center.
Which of the solar system’s mountains is the biggest?
The tallest mountains in the photovoltaic system are much taller than the highest mountains on Earth. The record for the highest mountain in the Solar System is usually held by Olympus Mons on Mars, although the Rheasilvia peak on the Vesta asteroid may be the best.
With a height of over 21.9 kilometers from base to summit, Olympus Mons is just over twice as tall as Mauna Kea. Still, it may not be the highest in the solar system, given the difficulty of measuring such things on other worlds. The Rheasilvia peak in the Vesta asteroid crater is thought to be somewhat higher, measuring around 22.5 kilometers above the asteroid’s base.