Is Mount Everest really the tallest mountain?

Mount Everest’s peak is 8,849 meters (29,032 ft) above the ocean, which makes it the tallest mountain in the world above sea level, according to National Geographic.

Photo: Michael Clarke/Unsplash

The tallest mountain in the world from base to peak is Mauna Kea, a long-dormant volcano in Hawaii, USA. In total, it is approximately 10,205m (33,481 feet) in height.

However, more than half of Mauna Kea is underwater, so it doesn’t reach the elevation that Mount Everest does, according to the National Ocean Service.

Photo: Hawaii’s Big Island with Mauna Kea in the background.

A mountain’s distance above sea level is the most common measurement for its height, but Mauna Kea could be considered the tallest by those who want to argue the technicality.

Photo: Mauna Kea Observatory by Daniel Gregoire/Unsplash

Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador could also be considered the world’s tallest mountain thanks to the Earth not being perfectly spherical and the equator bulging outward, according to BBC Science Focus.

Chimborazo is another inactive volcano with a peak of 6,310 metres (20,702 ft) above sea level. Thanks to it being only one degree south of the equator, Chimborazo has the peak closest to the Sun.

Photo: Giovanni Poveda/Unsplash

That means that, if measured from the center of the planet, Chimborazo can claim to be the tallest mountain on Earth, as explained by the BBC.

Photo: Joris Beugels/Unsplash

Typically, though, mountains aren’t measured from the centre of the planet, instead choosing to go from either above sea level or from base to peak. Which brings us to the other contender.

According to the Himalayan database, at least 322 people have perished on Mount Everest since records began in 1922, averaging out to about 4.4 deaths per year.