Today’s Fun Fact

What’s the tallest mountain on Earth?

If you answered Mt. Everest, you’re 1/3 right. The truest answer would be to list all three mountains given the tallest status by the various interpretations of measurement.

  1. Tallest from sea level: Mt. Everest in the Himalayas at 29,035 feet
  2. Tallest from the base: Mauna Kea in Hawaii at 33,476 feet
  3. Tallest from the center of the Earth: Chimborazo in the Andes at 20,561 feet

Interesting little tidbit. I actually thought it was Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, a mere 19,340 feet (presumably from sea level). While not the tallest in the world, it is the tallest in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world (whatever that means).

1 comment

  1. Very interesting.

    How does #3 work? Is Chimborazo on a wider-part of the not-perfectly-spherical earth than Everest?

    And yeah, what’s a free-standing mountain? A mountain that’s not in a mountain range? A mountain without cables holding it up?

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