Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth when measured from sea level. Its height is about 8,849 meters (29,032 feet). The mountain is part of the Himalaya range, a long chain of very tall mountains in Asia. Mount Everest lies on the border between Nepal and China (Tibet). Because of its great height, the mountain reaches into very cold and thin air near the top.

Mount Everest has different names in different places. In Nepal, it is called Sagarmatha, which means "Forehead of the Sky." In Tibet, it is called Chomolungma, meaning "Goddess Mother of the World." The English name "Everest" comes from Sir George Everest, a British surveyor whose name was given to the mountain in the 19th century. A surveyor is a person who measures land.

Mount Everest was formed over millions of years by the movement of Earth’s plates. Plates are large pieces of Earth’s outer layer that move very slowly. The Indian plate pushed into the Eurasian plate, causing the land to rise. This process is called plate movement. The mountain is still rising very slowly today because the plates continue to press together.

The upper parts of Mount Everest are very harsh. The air becomes thinner as height increases, which means there is less oxygen to breathe. Oxygen is a gas needed by humans to stay alive. Near the summit, temperatures are often far below freezing. Strong winds and heavy snow are common. Snow and ice cover much of the mountain, especially at high altitude, which means great height above sea level.

People first reached the top of Mount Everest in 1953. The climbers were Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal. A Sherpa is a member of a local ethnic group living in the Himalayas. Since then, many others have reached the summit, though climbing details are not discussed here. Their names are recorded as part of the mountain’s history.

Mount Everest is surrounded by valleys, glaciers, and other high peaks. A glacier is a slow-moving mass of ice. One well-known glacier near Everest is the Khumbu Glacier''. The area around the mountain is protected in parks, such as Sagarmatha National Park'''. Mount Everest remains a major natural feature of the Himalayas and a clear example of how Earth’s surface can change over time.