Mount Everest is the tallest mountain above sea level and it is not done growing. A strange new report shows that this large mountain has not yet reached its peak growth. How is it possible for a mountain to continue to grow? Experts reveal that it is due to an ancient phenomenon.
Mount Everest Continues To Grow
Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
The NY Post shares some incredible facts about the well-known Mount Everest. First, the Himalayan mountain is "50-million-years old." Additionally, they shared that the mountain is currently at "29,032 feet." Furthermore it has continued to grow. The news outlet shared that this mountain "has grown between 49 and 164 feet in the past 89,000 years."
Professor Jingen Dai shared that even the infamous Mount Everest "is subject to ongoing geological processes that can measurably affect its height over relatively short geological timescales." What geological processes affect the growth? Well, with this mountain, it starts from the ground up. Specifically from the Arun River.
Erosion changed the direction of the river's flow and made it connect with the Kosi River system. Together, the two rivers formed a gorge at the Arun's base. Dr. Matthew Fox explained how that occurrence is relevant.
He said,
"At that time, there would be an enormous amount of additional water flowing through the Arun River, and this would have been able to transport more sediment and erode more bedrock, and cut down into the valley bottom."
Science Explains All
As more bedrock eroded and cut down into the valley bottom, that led to less weight on the Earth's crust. Therefore, allowing the surrounding land to rise up. The NY Times shares that this phenomenon has successfully "pushed up Mount Everest between 0.16 and 0.53 millimeters every year."
Although it is incredible, this "growing" of the mountain will not happen forever. Scientists argue that once the river reaches a "new equilibrium state" it will stop. Scientists, academics, and the general population are all amazed at the incredible situation.
How erosion from rivers can have such a dramatic response and can make the famous Mount Everest grow even taller.
