[Rockhounds] Is Mount Everest really the tallest mountain on Earth?

[axel.emmermann at telenet.be]

Mauna Kea is just slightly higher than Mauna Loa... But Mauna Loa is bigger, without doubt the most massive volcano on earth. Being that, it makes a dent in the oceanic floor, actually it dents the Pacific tectonic plate on which it sits. More so than Mauna Kea, which is also gigantic but on a just slightly less brain-wrecking scale qua overall size, rather than just height.
Counting from the bottom of the Mauna Loa "dent" upwards to the top... I wouldn't dare to put my money on either one. Too close a call!!!.
So basically: standing on Mauna Kea, you can actually look across "the Saddle" between both volcanoes towards Mauna Loa and see that it is somewhat lower (and more active, as you can see the blueish mist of sulfurous oxides that hangs around it), but much and much longer than the volcano on which you stand.
If you can, you should do so, it is an awesome experience.
But vantage points can be deceiving... Were you to stand on the ocean floor, at the bottom of the indentation that is caused by the incredible mass and weight of either volcano, you would... be immediately crushed to an unrecognizable pulp by the water pressure and therefore none the wiser. 

If you REALLY need to know which of the Hawaiian volcanoes is the highest, go there and throw a bottle of gin in the Kilauea caldeira before asking Pélé... The Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes likes a stiff drink. Bring a bone for her little black dog too ;-)

Cheers, pardon, aloha
Axel

----- Oorspronkelijk bericht -----
Van: "Rik Dillen" <rik.dillen at skynet.be>
Aan: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com" <rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
Verzonden: Woensdag 29 december 2021 11:13:10
Onderwerp: Re: [Rockhounds] Is Mount Everest really the tallest mountain on Earth?

I think that the highest mountain on earth is the Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii: from its base (that is situated deep under sea level) to the top it measures 9170 m, taller than Mt. Everest. 
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauna_Loa

Enjoy your family gatherings these days, and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2022!

Grts,

Rik Dillen
rik.dillen at skynet.be
Mineralogische Kring Antwerpen - www.minerant.org
Lid worden van de MKA ?  www.minerant.org/MKA/lidworden.html
MINERANT 2022
7-8 May 2022 - Antwerp Expo

-----Original Message-----
From: Rockhounds <rockhounds-bounces at rockhounds.drizzle.com> On Behalf Of Kreigh Tomaszewski
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2021 21:23
To: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors <rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
Subject: [Rockhounds] Is Mount Everest really the tallest mountain on Earth?

It's no secret that Mount Everest, the jewel in Nepal's Himalayan crown, is the world's premier mountain. It's one of those facts embedded in childhood, like knowing that Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the *moon* <https://www.livescience.com/earths-moon.html> or that *blue
whales* <https://www.livescience.com/64459-blue-whale.html> are the largest animals ever to have lived.

You may be surprised to hear, then, that other peaks could conceivably be considered *Earth's* <https://www.livescience.com/earth.html> tallest; it just depends how you measure them.

So, judging by different parameters — including tallest by altitude, tallest from base to top and tallest based on being the farthest point from Earth's center — what is the tallest mountain in the world?

https://www.livescience.com/tallest-mountain-on-earth
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