ABOUT MOUNT EVEREST

Elevation: 29,035 feet (8,850 meters)
Prominence: 29,035 feet (8,850 meters); most prominent mountain in the world.
Location: On the border of Nepal and Tibet/China, Asia
Coordinates: 27°59′17″ N / 86°55′31″ E
First Ascent: Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal)on May 29, 1953.
Native Name for Everest

Mount Everest is also called Chomolangma, meaning “Goddess Mother of Snows” in Tibetan and Sagarmatha, meaning "Mother of the Universe" in Nepalese. The mountain is sacred to the native people.
Named for George Everest

British surveyors named the peak for George Everest (properly pronounced “I-ver-ist”) a Surveyor General of India in the mid-nineteenth century.
Current Elevation

Everest's current elevation is based on a GPS device implanted on the highest rock point under ice and snow in 1999 by an American expedition. The mountain is higher than 21 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other.
Surveyors Add 2 Feet to Height

Mount Everest was once surveyed at exactly 29,000 feet but the surveyors didn't think people would believe that so they added two feet to its elevation, making it 29,002 feet.
Peak Still Rising

Mount Everest is rising from 3 to 6 millimeters or about 1/3 inch a year. Everest is also moving northeastward about 3 inches a year.
Glaciers Shape Mt. Everest

Mount Everest was dissected by glaciers into a huge pyramid with three faces and three major ridges on the north, south, and west sides of the mountain. Five major glaciers continue to chisel Mount Everest—Kangshung Glacier on the east; East Rongbuk Glacier on the northeast; Rongbuk Glacier on the north; and Khumbu Glacier on the west and southwest.