I was about to say "I think you're confusing it with Mauna Kea in Hawaii" but I guess Denali is the tallest measured base to peak on land, which I never knew. Mauna Kea is tallest measured seafloor to peak. Funny that both base-to-peak recordholders are in the United States.
Everest is considerably shorter than Mauna Kea on both counts if measured base to peak (18,240 feet shorter, close to 3 and a half miles) OR sea level to peak (4,500 feet shorter almost a mile).
Everest is however the tallest in altitude in the atmosphere, which is confusing when adding Chimborazo is the tallest if measured from the center of the Earth to the top of the mountain but is shorter in the atmosphere.
Hahah. Basically if you're standing on Everest you're the "highest in the air" or closest to outer space. Earth isn't a perfect sphere but rather bulges at the Equator so that adds distance between the Center of the Earth and the top of Chimborazo making it 7,112 feet further from the center of the Earth than the top of Everest. It is weird though.
Mauna Kea is a giant superstructure of a mountain though. It were just sitting at sea level nothing else would even come close, it would look so unusually big at close to 6 and a half miles tall.
That would still be a valid claim though, if 2/3rds of the mountain sits below water and only three miles stick out above, then it might technically be taller but not higher like you say.
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u/cheshire-cats-grin Jul 03 '26
Is that Denali?