How to define the tallest mountain on Earth is debatable. Mount Everest, everybody’s go-to peak, is a contender as its 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak places it as the highest above sea level, with K2 coming a close second at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet). If you measure from base to peak, however, Mauna Kea in Hawai’i is the tallest on Earth, measuring over 10,210 meters (33,500 feet), despite peeking out just 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) above sea level.
So, with that extra information, please guess what the furthest point on Earth is in relation to the center of our planet. If you said Everest or Mauna Kea, we’re afraid you are incorrect. To get the furthest from the center of the Earth (without cheating by using, for example, a plane), you would need to scale Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, the 37th tallest mountain in the Andes.
How is this the case? Thank the (not real) centrifugal force. As the planet spins, the centrifugal force causes the planet to bulge at the center by about 43 kilometers (27 miles).
With this unfair advantage, the peak of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is the furthest point on our planet from the center of the Earth, standing over 2,072 meters (6,800 feet) further from that center point than Everest’s peak. If you stand there, you are the closest you can be to the stars without leaving the ground.
Source Link: The Furthest Point On Earth From Its Center Is On The 37th Highest Mountain In The Andes
