How High is Mount Everest?
Height of Mount Everest
The official elevation of Mount Everest as the highest peak of the world is 29,029 feet or 8,848 meters in height. Though the National Geographic Society has identified the height of the mountain to be six feet taller than stated (29,035 feet) but the Government of Nepal has not made any decision yet to make the new elevation official. Mount Everest is still pushed upward continually due to the shifting tectonic plates that lies beneath the entire Himalaya mountain range. Each year, the mountain is pushed upward by 1.6 to 3.9 inches or four to ten centimeters.
Location
Mount Everest is a portion of the great Himalaya mountain range that runs through the border of Tibet and Nepal. The coordinates of the mountain are 27 degrees 59 minutes North latitude and 86 degrees 55 minutes East longitude.
Name
In the year of 1841, a Surveyor General of India by the name of Sir George Everest is the first one to record the location of the mountain. It was called at first as the "Peak XV". But in the year of 1865, the name was changed to Mount Everest in honor of Sir George. The people of Tibet called the mountain as ‘Chomolungma’ meaning ‘The Third Goddess’ due to its great height. While the people of Nepal called the mountain as ‘Sagarmatha’.
Windy Mountain Top
At the top of Mount Everest, the wind is blowing strongly just like a hurricane with the speed of 118+ miles per hours. This is called as the Jet Stream that continuously blow at the icy and rocky peak of the mountain almost the whole year round. Climbers who want to stand in the summit of the mountain have to select their timing very carefully. There are days in early May and some days in the Fall where the Jet Stream is pushed northward over Tibet.
Thin Air
As the height of the elevation increases, the oxygen content in the atmosphere will decrease significantly. At the height of 9,800 feet, the oxygen content in the atmosphere is about two-thirds compared to the sea level. At the height of 20,000 feet, the oxygen content in the atmosphere is estimated to be just half. And at the peak of Mount Everest which is 29,029 feet, you can just imagine how little is the oxygen content in the atmosphere.
Temperature
At the peak of Mount Everest, the temperature can go as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit. However, in times that the mountain peak is experiencing a good day, the temperature can climb up to -15 degrees Fahrenheit.
