Recent studies have shown that Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo is higher than Mount Everest, previously known as the highest point on Earth. The volcanic peak in Ecuador extends further up in the atmosphere due to the Earth's peculiar bulge at the equator, according to the Daily Mail.
Data recorded have shown that when measured, the tip of Chimborazo is 3,967 miles from the Earth's Center, while the Himalaya's highest point only reaches up to 3,965 miles high when measured on the same basis.
Despite the recent findings, Mount Everest still is the highest peak when measured at sea level. Mount Chimborazo is only 20,500 feet tall when measured at sea level. Meanwhile, Mount Everest reaches 29,029 feet.
The confusion roots from the basis of comparison. Earth's rotation greatly influences the shape of the planet, which results in the Earth not being a perfect sphere, not even close, according to the NY Times.
The centrifugal force of Earth's rotation makes it bulge farther from the planet's core, which is concentrated on Earth's equatorial area. The phenomena result in a bulge that makes Earth's radius extend farther by about 13 miles.
It seems that they are not the only contenders of world's tallest; Hawaii's Mauna Kea is just a mere 4,000 meters above sea level but is about 10,000 meters tall when measured from top to bottom, as Geology.com states.
Everest's claim to fame might very well be the climb. While the other two would be considered taller, but due to man's physical limitations, only Everest presents a potentially surmountable challenge among mountain climbers.
The unusual contest may not be once and for all settled considering all accounts, but Mount Chimborazo of Ecuador may freely claim that it reaches farther out in the atmosphere, which is in a technically the tallest, but not without the help of physics and Earth's unique properties.
