Summits farthest from the Earth's center

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Although Mount Everest is the point with the highest elevation above sea level on the Earth, it is not the summit that is farthest from the Earth's center. [1] [2] Because of the equatorial bulge, the summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Andes is the point on the Earth that is farthest from the center, and is 2,168 m (7,113 ft) farther from the Earth's center than the summit of Everest. [1] [2] [3] The second-farthest summit, Huascarán, also in the Andes, is only about 10 metres closer to the Earth's center.

Contents

Background

Planet Earth is not a perfect sphere, but has an oblate spheroid shape, because the planet's rotation gives the planet an equatorial bulge. [4] As a result, mean sea level at the poles is 6,356.8 kilometres (3,949.9 mi) from the center of the Earth , while mean sea level at the equator is 6,378.1 kilometres (3,963.2 mi) from the center of the Earth. [4] This means sea level at the equator is about 22 kilometres (14 mi) further away from the centre of the Earth than sea level is at the poles is. [4] Because Mount Chimborazo is quite close to the equator, its summit is about 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) further from the centre of the earth than the summit of Mount Everest is. [4] [5] At least 26 other mountain summits are also further from the center of the Earth than Mount Everest is due to Earth's equatorial bulge. [6]

List of summits

PositionTypeSummitDistance from Earth's center [6] Elevation above sea level mLatitudeCountry
1Dormant Volcano Chimborazo 6,384.4 kilometres or 3,967.1 miles6,267 metres (20,561 ft)1°28′09″S Ecuador
2Mountain Huascarán (Sur Summit)6,384.4 kilometres or 3,967.1 miles6,768 metres (22,205 ft)9°07′17″S Peru
3Mountain Yerupajá 6,384.3 kilometres or 3,967.0 miles6,655 metres (21,834 ft)10°16′01″S Peru
4Active Volcano Cotopaxi 6,384.1 kilometres or 3,966.9 miles5,897 metres (19,347 ft)0°40′50″S Ecuador
5Mountain Huandoy 6,384.0 kilometres or 3,966.8 miles6,395 metres (20,981 ft)9°01′38″S Peru
6Dormant Volcano Kilimanjaro (Kibo Summit)6,384.0 kilometres or 3,966.8 miles5,895 metres (19,341 ft)3°04′33″S Tanzania
7Active Volcano Cayambe 6,384.0 kilometres or 3,966.8 miles5,790 metres (19,000 ft)0°01′30″N Ecuador
8Volcano Antisana 6,383.9 kilometres or 3,966.8 miles5,753 metres (18,875 ft)0°28′53″N Ecuador
9Mountain Siula Grande 6,383.8 kilometres or 3,966.7 miles5,790 metres (19,000 ft)10°17′S Peru
10Mountain Alpamayo 6,383.6 kilometres or 3,966.6 miles5,947 metres (19,511 ft)8°52′47″S Peru
11Mountain Pisco (Western summit) (Nevado Pisco)6,383.4 kilometres or 3,966.5 miles5,752 metres (18,871 ft)9°00′43″S Peru
12Mountain Salcantay 6,383.3 kilometres or 3,966.4 miles6,271 metres (20,574 ft)13°20′01″S Peru
13Mountain Pico Cristóbal Colón 6,383.2 kilometres or 3,966.3 miles5,776 metres (18,950 ft)10°50′18″S Colombia
14Volcano Coropuna 6,383.1 kilometres or 3,966.3 miles6,425 metres (21,079 ft)15°33′00″S Peru
15Mountain Ancohuma (Janq'u Uma)6,383.0 kilometres or 3,966.2 miles6,427 metres (21,086 ft)15°51′12″S Bolivia
16Mountain Illampu 6,383.0 kilometres or 3,966.2 miles6,368 metres (20,892 ft)15°49′00″S Bolivia
17Mountain Illimani 6,382.9 kilometres or 3,966.2 miles6,462 metres (21,201 ft)16°38′00″S Bolivia
18Volcano Ampato 6,382.9 kilometres or 3,966.2 miles6,288 metres (20,630 ft)15°49′14″S Peru
19Volcano Nevado Sajama 6,382.7 kilometres or 3,966.0 miles6,542 metres (21,463 ft)18°06′29″S Bolivia
20Mountain Chachacomani (Chachakumani)6,382.6 kilometres or 3,966.0 miles6,074 metres (19,928 ft)15°59′14″S Bolivia
21Extinct volcano Hualca Hualca (Wallqa Wallqa)6,382.6 kilometres or 3,966.0 miles6,025 metres (19,767 ft)15°43′13″S Peru
22Mountain Huayna Potosí 6,382.6 kilometres or 3,966.0 miles6,088 metres (19,974 ft)16°15′45″S Bolivia
23Dormant volcano Chachani 6,382.6 kilometres or 3,966.0 miles6,057 metres (19,872 ft)16°11′00″S Peru
24Volcano Parinacota (Parinaquta)6,382.5 kilometres or 3,965.9 miles6,348 metres (20,827 ft)18°09′58″S Bolivia

Chile

25Volcano Pomerape 6,382.4 kilometres or 3,965.8 miles6,282 metres (20,610 ft)18°07′33″S Chile

Bolivia

26Volcano Misti (El Misti)6,382.3 kilometres or 3,965.8 miles5,822 metres (19,101 ft)16°17′47″S Peru
27Additional summits omitted by sourceFor method see source [6] Only Summits over 5,500 m [6] See [6]
28 [ citation needed ]Mountain Mount Everest 6,382.3 kilometres or 3,965.8 miles8,848 metres (29,029 ft)27°59′17″N Nepal

China

References

  1. 1 2 "What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth's center?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (oceanservice.noaa.gov). US Department of Commerce. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "The Highest Point on Earth". Geology In (www.geologyin.com). Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  3. ↑ Jennings, Ken (June 4, 2012). "Mt. Everest Is Not the Highest Point on Earth". Condé Nast Traveler (www.cntraveler.com). Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Matthew (May 22, 2016). "What is the Highest Place on Earth?". Universe Today (www.universetoday.com). Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada: Fraser Cain. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Is Mount Everest Really the Tallest Mountain in the World?". Jambo International Tour (www.jambointernational.tour.com). Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. June 12, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Biegert, Mark (January 2, 2015). "The Farthest Mountaintops from the Center of the Earth". Math Encounters Blog (mathscinotes.com). Retrieved July 4, 2018.

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