News has been circulating that China and Nepal are on the cusp of announcing the latest official height for Mount Everest. In 2019, these nations signed an agreement to recalculate this elevation and share their findings with the world.
Mount Everest, or Sagarmatha as it’s known in Nepal, holds the title for the Earth’s highest mountain from sea level. Straddling the border between China and Nepal, the mountain sits high in the Himalayas with its summit acting as the border point between the two countries. Its current official elevation is 8,848 meters, towering over K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, by over 200 meters. K2 stands at a height of 8,611 meters and is situated in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The English name ‘Mount Everest’ comes courtesy of Sir George Everest, a geographer from the colonial era, who served as the Surveyor General of India during the mid-19th century. The first successful ascent of the mountain was completed by Tenzing Norgay, an Indian-Nepalese climber, and Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, in 1953.
The Original Survey of Everest
Andrew Waugh, the Surveyor General of India in 1847, led the pioneering effort to measure Everest’s height. The operation involved intricate trigonometric calculations and was named the Great Trigonometric Survey of India. Under this survey, the team realized that ‘Peak 15’ (now known as Mount Everest) was the highest mountain, debunking the prior belief that Mount Kanchenjunga, now the third-highest peak measuring 8,582 meters, held that title.
Reasons for Re-measuring Mount Everest
Everest’s present official height, measured by the Survey of India in 1956, has been globally accepted. However, the elevation of a summit can alter due to tectonic activities such as earthquakes, for example, the Nepal earthquake in 2015. The mountain’s measurements also change depending on the surveyor. Past measurements have been taken by Indian, American, and European surveyors. This united attempt is an opportunity for Nepal to showcase its national pride and provide its own evaluation of the mountain’s height.
About the Survey of India
The Survey of India, operating under the Department of Science and Technology, is the National Survey and Mapping Organisation of India. Founded in 1767, it’s the oldest scientific department within the Indian government and is headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It advises the Indian Government on various survey matters including Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Mapping, and Map Reproduction.
The Origin and Features of the Himalayas
The Himalayas, where Mount Everest resides, owe their creation to the collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian Plates, causing the sedimentary rocks in the Tethys geosyncline to fold and form this majestic mountain system. They spread over a distance of about 2,400 km, with their width varying from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh. The mountains consist of three parallel ranges: the Great Himalaya, the Lesser Himalaya, and Shiwalik.
Depending on geomorphological features, relief, and alignment of ranges, the Himalayas are divided into the Kashmir or Northwestern Himalayas, Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas, Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas, Arunachal Himalayas, and Eastern Hills and Mountains.