The record that the Chimborazo volcano has taken from Everest

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It is well known that the highest mountain in the world is Everest, with more than 8,000 meters above sea level. What is not so well known is that the Chimborazo volcano has a record that exceeds the height of Everest.

In this post we tell you about the Chimborazo record, by which it becomes the farthest point on the planet.

The Chimborazo with respect to sea level

The best known way to measure the mountains is always by comparing them with respect to sea level. This is why Everest holds the record for the highest mountain, with 8,848 meters above sea level.

In the case of the volcanoes, the highest is the Nevado Ojos del Salado with 6,891 meters above sea level. Following this classification, the ascent to Chimborazo has 6,263 meters above sea level, far from both the record held by Everest and Nevado Ojos del Salado with respect to volcanoes.

But there is a classification in which Chimborazo is the highest point on the planet, and unseats Everest as the top of the world.

Chimborazo’s record with respect to the center of the Earth

To understand this better, the first thing you need to know is that The Earth is not a perfect sphere, it is not completely round. It is much wider at the Equator Earth, and as it gets closer to the poles, it gets flatter and flatter. Specifically, there is a difference of 21 kilometers between the equator and the poles.

Therefore, the equator zone is the farthest part from the center of the planet. So that we understand, it is like an egg, which is much thicker in the center than at the edges.

This is why, considering that Chimborazo is practically on the equatorial line, the diameter of the planet gives it an advantage over the other peaks of the world. This also happens with the Cotopaxi volcano, although the latter does not surpass Everest.

After a scientific excursion led by Ecuadorian researchers and the French Research Institute, and aided by GPS measurements, the height of Chimborazo with respect to the center of the Earth has been set at 6,384 kilometers. On the other hand, Everest, with this measurement, has a height of 6,382 kilometers, a little less than 2 kilometers difference.

It is for this simple reason that, although Everest is the highest mountain with respect to sea level, the shape of the Earth and location, give the record to Chimborazo as the highest point with respect to the center of the Earth.

Moreover, it is not only Chimborazo that is ahead of Everest after this measurement. Peru’s Mountain Huascarán, at 6,768 meters above sea level, also takes advantage of this proximity to the equator to position itself in second place. Although it is higher than Chimborazo above sea level, it is only 40 meters away from the record.

Did you know about this classification? Would you dare to visit the highest place on the planet?