(Web Desk) - Mount Everest is considered the tallest mountain in the world at an elevation of 8,849 metres above sea level. It is indeed the tallest mountain, but only when we consider the height above sea level.
However, if we measure the actual height of mountains from their base to peak, the tallest mountain is not Mount Everest but Mauna Kea, which has an altitude of only 4,205 metres above sea level.
Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the Hawaii island and about 6,000 metres of its base remains submerged below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, which is more than half of its total height. If you calculate the actual height from its base under the ocean till its peak, Mauna Kea would be over 10,000 metres tall, at least 1150 metres taller than Mount Everest.
Mauna Kea is the tallest volcano on Earth. It is believed to have formed over a hot spot in the Earth’s crust. While it likely remained stationary in the area where the magma rises and erupts on the surface, the Pacific Plate moved over it, which formed its base. As the plate shifted northwestward, it formed a series of volcanoes in the area.
Mauna Kea is the youngest volcano in the world and was formed a million years ago. It remains in an active state, however, the last time it erupted is believed to be over 45,000 years ago.
The mountain is also famous for having the world's largest astronomical observatory, providing ideal conditions with cloud-free skies and high altitude.
Similarly, Mauna Loa, the second-highest mountain in Hawaii, becomes the second-highest mountain on Earth when measured from the base to the peak.
It is the largest volcano based on volume and area.
THE HIGHEST POINT IN THE WORLD
If you consider the height from Earth's central point, neither Mount Everest nor Mauna Kea would be the tallest mountain. Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, with an altitude of 6,310 metres, is the highest point in the world.
The mountain has a much lower height than Mount Everest and is not even the highest peak in the Andes mountain range, where it resides. Then what makes it the highest point in the world?
Our planet Earth is not a perfect sphere, but an oblate spheroid. Earth is much flatter on the poles but bulges out near the equator. Chimborazo is located just one degree south of the equator, making it the world's highest point at about 3,967 miles from Earth's core.
Chimborazo is also the closest point to the sun on Earth's surface, while Mount Everest is not even in the top 20 as it sits at a latitude of 28 degrees north.