‘Mount Everest‘ (Nepali: सगरमाथा, romanized: Sagarmāthā; Tibetan: Chomolungma ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ; Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng) is the highest mountain in the world above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas with China–Nepal border running across its summit point. Its elevation (snow height) of 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
Name
In 1849, the British survey wanted to preserve local names if possible (e.g., Kangchenjunga and Dhaulagiri), and Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India argued that he could not find any commonly used local name, as his search for a local name was hampered by Nepal and Tibet’s exclusion of foreigners. Waugh argued that because there were many local names, it would be difficult to favor one name over all others; he decided that Peak XV should be named after British surveyor Sir George Everest, his predecessor as Surveyor General of India. Everest himself opposed the name suggested by Waugh and told the Royal Geographical Society in 1857 that “Everest” could not be written in Hindi nor pronounced by “the native of India”. Waugh’s proposed name prevailed despite the objections, and in 1865, the Royal Geographical Society officially adopted Mount Everest as the name for the highest mountain in the world. The modern pronunciation of Everest (/ˈɛvərɪst/) is different from Sir George’s pronunciation of his surname (/ˈiːvrɪst/ EEV-rist).
In the early 1960s, the Nepali government coined the Nepali name Sagarmāthā (सगर-माथा), which means “the Head in the Great Blue Sky“, being derived from सगर (sagar), meaning “sky”, and माथा (māthā), meaning “head”.
Climate
Mount Everest extends into the upper troposphere and penetrates the stratosphere. The air pressure at the summit is generally about one-third what it is at sea level. The altitude can expose the summit to the fast and freezing winds of the jet stream.
Flora and Fauna
The region of Everest has very little native flora or fauna. A moss grows at 6,480 meters (21,260 ft) on Mount Everest and the same may be the highest altitude plant species. According to the study based on satellite data from 1993 to 2018, vegetation is expanding in the Everest region. Researchers have found plants in areas that were previously deemed bare.
Euophrys omnisuperstes, a minute black jumping spider, has been found at elevations as high as 6,700 meters (22,000 ft), possibly making it the highest confirmed non-microscopic permanent resident on Earth. In the base camp of Everest the jumping spider Euophrys everestensis occurs. There is however a high likelihood of microscopic life at even higher altitudes in the region.
Birds, such as the bar-headed goose, have been seen flying at the higher altitudes of the mountain, while others, such as the chough, have been spotted as high as the South Col at 7,920 meters (25,980 ft). Yellow-billed choughs have been seen as high as 7,900 meters (26,000 ft) and bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas. In 1953, George Lowe (part of the expedition of Tenzing and Hillary) said that he saw bar-headed geese flying over Everest’s summit.
Yaks are often used to haul gear for Mount Everest climbs. They can haul 100 kg (220 pounds), have thick fur and large lungs. Other animals in the region include the Himalayan tahr which is sometimes eaten by the snow leopard. The Himalayan black bear can be found up to about 4,300 meters (14,000 ft) and the red panda is also spotted in the region. One expedition has also found a surprising range of species in the region including a pika and ten new species of ants.
