CHIMBORAZO, ECUADOR
“A third way to determine the world’s highest mountain is to measure the distance from the center of the earth to the peak. Using this method, Chimborazo in the Ecuadorian Andes triumphs. Although it stands but 20,561 feet (6,267 meters) above sea level, its peak is the farthest from the earth’s center.”
SOURCES: National Geographic. 9 June 2001 | “Chimborazo.” World Book. 2001 ed. Vol. 3-C-Ch: 471.
“But if you define “tallest” as the farthest distance from the center of the Earth, that would be Mt. Chimborazo, in Ecuador [sic], at 6,267 meters above sea level …. [I[t’s farther away from Earth’s center, at 6,384,404 meters; Mt. Everest is 6,381,670 meters from the center of the Earth.”
SOURCE: Egbert, Jean L. Facts. The Ocean Frontier. Flamingo Communications. 1999-2001.
Earth is almost a sphere
The Earth’s shape could be described as an oblate spheroid. It’s kind of like a sphere, but the Earth’s rotation causes the equator to bulge out . What this means is that the measurement from pole to pole is about 43 km less than the diameter of Earth across the equator.
Even though the tallest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, the feature that’s furthest from the center of the Earth is actually Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador.
