Mount Everest Is Already The Tallest Mountain In The World, And It’s Only Getting Taller
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world at 29,032 feet above sea level, and it’s only getting taller. The peak is part of the Himalayan range that has been lifting up as the tectonic plate under the Indian subcontinent smashes into the rest of Asia.
For over 50 million years, Mount Everest has been gaining inches. Its height continues to grow at about two millimeters per year.
“Although mountains may appear to stand still from the perspective of a human lifetime, they are, in fact, constantly in motion,” said Jin-Gen Dai, a geoscientist at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing.
Everest is actually growing at a faster rate than many of its Himalayan counterparts. Aside from Everest, the three tallest peaks are K2, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse. They are all around the same height and are roughly 1,000 feet shorter than Everest.
Researchers think they have figured out why the world’s tallest mountain is having growth spurts. The cause seems to be due to erosion from a river located approximately 47 miles away from Everest.
Rivers in steep mountains tend to remove large amounts of rock, which makes the Earth’s crust lighter and gives the peak a little more height. The effect is called isostatic rebound.
“It’s a bit like throwing a load of cargo off a ship,” said Adam Smith, a co-author of the study and a geoscientist at University College London. “The ship becomes lighter and so floats a little higher. Similarly, when the crust becomes lighter…it can float a little higher.”
The scientists used computer models to find that the nearby Arun River merged into the flow of Kosi, another river network, around 89,000 years ago.
The combined rivers led to higher erosion, reducing the weight of the region and boosting Everest’s growth. Each year, two millimeters of additional height were gained. This resulted in a cumulative total of 50 to 165 extra feet.
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The effects of the adjustment of Earth’s crust can be seen in other places besides the Himalayas. When continental ice sheets melt at the end of ice ages, the crust shifts in order to make up for the loss of mass, reshaping the landscape. It follows a process similar to what’s going on at Mount Everest.
The new study just scratches the surface of our understanding of all the ways the region’s solid earth is being affected by ongoing changes like erosion.
Other nearby peaks, including Lhotse and Makalu, the fourth and fifth tallest peaks, are also rising due to the same process Everest is undergoing.
It doesn’t seem likely that they’ll catch up to Everest any time soon, though. Everest’s height remains unique and will continue to spring farther upward.
The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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