Which mountain's summit is the farthest point on Earth's surface from the planet's center?
- Mount Everest
- Mauna Kea
- K2
- Mount Chimborazo
Why D? And why not the others?
Correct answer: D. Mount Chimborazo
Earth is not a perfect sphere — its spin makes it bulge at the Equator. Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador sits just one degree south of the Equator, right on that bulge, so its summit lies more than 2,000 meters farther from Earth's center than Everest's, even though Chimborazo's altitude above sea level is far lower. NOAA notes this makes Chimborazo, in a sense, the closest point on Earth to the stars. Mount Everest is the natural pick because it is the highest summit above sea level, but sea level itself bulges outward with the planet, so the reference line moves. Mauna Kea holds a different record entirely — tallest mountain measured base-to-peak — while K2, the second-highest peak above sea level, sits too far north of the bulge to compete.
Source: NOAA Ocean Service: 'What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth's center?' (oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/highestpoint.html)