Mount Everest: Earth's Highest Peak on the China-Nepal Border

Mount Everest (Sagarmatha / Chomolungma / 珠穆朗玛峰) stands at 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) — Earth's highest point above sea level.

Location & Geography

Coordinates: 27°59′17″N, 86°55′31″E
Range: Mahalangur Himal, Himalayas
Border: China (Tibet Autonomous Region) / Nepal (Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality). Summit bisected by international boundary.

Names

Sagarmatha (Nepali): "Forehead of the Sky"
Chomolungma (Tibetan/Sherpa): "Goddess Mother of the World"
Everest (English): Named 1865 for Sir George Everest (Surveyor General of India), who objected.

Climbing History

1953: Hillary (NZ) + Tenzing Norgay (Sherpa) — first confirmed summit.
2023: 600+ summits/year (commercial). 300+ deaths total. "Death Zone" >8,000 m.
Routes: Southeast Ridge (Nepal, standard), North Ridge (Tibet, harder logistics).

Environmental Stress

Glacial retreat (Khumbu Icefall shifting), waste accumulation (tons), overcrowding (queue at Hillary Step), climate change (warming 0.33°C/decade). Nepal/China coordination challenges.

Measurement

2020 joint China-Nepal survey (GPS, GNSS, radar, snow depth) established 8,848.86 m — 0.86 m > 1954 Indian survey. Tectonic uplift ~4 mm/yr; earthquakes cause sudden shifts (2015 Gorkha: -3 cm?).