The answer to this question is straightforward and is one of the things that we learn that sticks with us for life. At 8,849 m, Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level. Scaling its peak is on the bucket list of most who seek the thrill of adventure.
In case you were wondering why the words “sea level” were included, it is because Mount Everest isn’t necessarily the tallest from base to peak. The sea level denotes the level of the sea’s surface or the average level of the surface of one or more of the Earth’s water bodies. It is used in figuring out the height of geographical features such as hills and mountains, or any elevation in general.
From below sea level
So if we were to look past the “sea level” definition and then ask the same question, our answer would be different. This is because the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes in Hawaii tower over 10 km. More than half of these volcanoes, however, are submerged and have their base in the ocean floor.
The question becomes a little more tricky if we extend it beyond Earth to the solar system, as there are two options, and it is near impossible to determine which of the two is taller based on the data at our disposal at the moment.
Olympus Mons vs Rheasilvia central peak
An enormous shield volcano on Mars, Olympus Mons was considered to be the tallest mountain known in the solar system since its discovery in 1971. It stayed that way for 40 years, and it wasn’t until 2011 that it had competition.
In that year, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft visited Vesta, a huge asteroid, and observed Rheasilvia, the most prominent surface feature on the asteroid – its diameter is nine-tenths that of Vesta itself. The central peak of the Rheasilvia crater has a height that is comparable with that of Olympus Mons.
Both Olympus Mons and Rheasilvia’s central peak rise over 20 km from their bases. Without enough data to set a reference from which peak elevations can be calculated, it might be some time before the taller between these two is ascertained.
Picture Credit : Google
