Untitled Document
 Do
you know what the highest mountain in the world is? Yes, Mount Everest
is the highest point on Earth. It is located
on the border between Nepal and
China. Everest Base Camp is at 5,380 meters,
which is higher than any mountain in the Rockies. So, exactly how high is the mountain?
Recently, the Nepalese government decided to measure the height of the mountain again.
The world’s highest mountain is known to stand at 8,848 meters (29,028
feet) above sea level. The height
was measured in 1999 by an American expedition, using GPS satellites. The height is
widely used now. Recently,
however, the Chinese government claimed the height of Everest
at 8,844 meters (29,008 feet). So, Nepal will measure Mount Everest
again to determine exactly how high
the world’s highest mountain is.
 “Last
week, the Nepalese government decided to take the new measurement. We will set up stations in three different
locations using the global
positioning system,” said Land Reforms Ministry spokesman Gopal Giri.
“We will place a special device on the peak that will measure the
height using satellite technology,” he explained.
According to the Nepalese government, the task will take two years.
<Interesting Facts about Mount Everest>
- Sir. Edmund Hillary from New Zealand is the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in
1953. Mount Everest has been climbed by thousands of people
since then.
- The temperature at the summit
averages about minus 36 degrees and can
drop as low as minus 60 degrees.
 - Tibetans
call Mount Everest “Chomolungma,” which means “Mother of the Universe.”
- The world’s oldest person to conquer Everest was 76-year-old
Bahadur Sherchan, from Nepal. He climbed the world’s highest mountain
successfully in 2008.
- The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is an American boy named
Jordan Romero. He conquered the mountain in 2010 at the age of 13.
- Mount Everest is growing at a rate of 0.5 centimeters
per year. That means the mountain is about
25.4 centimeters taller today than when Sir Edmund Hillary climbed
it in 1953. |
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