Mount Chimborazo, Not Everest, Is the Farthest Point From Earth's Center

Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level, but sea level is not the only way to measure height. NOAA’s National Ocean Service explains that Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is a bit thicker at the Equator, because of the centrifugal force created by the planet’s constant rotation. Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador sits just one degree south of the Equator, where that bulge is greatest. Its summit is 6,268 meters above sea level, well below Everest’s 8,848 meters. Measured from the center of the Earth, however, Chimborazo’s summit is over 2,072 meters farther out than Everest’s peak. NOAA describes this as making Chimborazo the closest point on Earth to the stars.