Everest is not the highest mountain in the world.

According to traditional measurements, at nearly 9,000 meters above sea level, Mount Everest is still thousands of meters taller than its closest rivals, surpassing Mount Chimborazo (6,248 m) by 2,600 meters.

Everest is not the highest mountain in the world. Photo: The Independent.

However, if measured from the Earth's center to the summit, Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador completely surpasses Mount Everest. Scientists at the French Institute for Research and Development confirmed that the summit of Mount Chimborazo reaches 6,384,268 meters. Even Everest isn't among the top 20 highest mountains, with a height of 6,381,049 meters measured from the Earth's center.

This is because the Earth is not a perfect sphere. The Earth is actually a flat mass at the poles and slightly bulges at the equator. Mount Chimborazo is located closer to the equator than Mount Everest, which is further north. Therefore, when measured from the center of the Earth, the summit of Mount Chimborazo is the highest.

According to the New York Times, on February 5th, mountaineers from the French Institute for Research and Development discovered that Mount Everest was approximately 4.5 meters lower than previously estimated.

Based on other criteria, Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain either. If measured by the length from its base to its summit, Mauna Kea in Hawaii, USA, is the tallest mountain on the planet. However, much of this mountain lies below sea level.

Mount Everest is famous only for its height above sea level and the difficulty of its ascent. While climbing Mount Chimborazo takes only two weeks, it takes mountaineers two months to reach the summit of Everest.

Thewo VNE