As we all know, Mt.Everest(8848 m), the highest mountain on Earth is located in Nepal. Much more than a pride symbol, Mt.Everest is also a source of revenue generation as thousands of tourists visit Nepal to trek in the Everest region or to climb Mt.Everest. Nepal is synonymous with trekking all over the world and Mt.Everest plays a big part in this. Due to the ever-changing natural geography of Earth, Mt.Everest, however, may soon cease to be Nepal’s pride and soul.
Mt.Everest lies in Nepal, just on the border between Nepal and China.
It is common knowledge that the Himalayas,of which Mt.Everest is a part, was formed due to the collision of Indian tectonic plate and Eurasian tectonic plate 50-50 million years ago. But not many people know that the Indian plate is still pushing into the Eurasian plate, causing frequent earthquakes and changes to the Himalayas. The tremendous pressure formed from the collision of plates causes the crust of Eurasian plate to become thicker which pushes the Himalayas and Mt.Everest to rise upwards. However, there is a certain limit to the growth of mountains due to the phenomenon of viscosity. The phenomenon of viscosity simply states that Mt.Everest cannot continue to grow taller since it will not be able to handle its own weight. Mt.Everest has already achieved its maximum height so instead of rising upwards, it is slowly spilling or spreading sideways into the region of Tibet, an autonomous region of China.
(Interesting facts to note: A small portion of Mt.Everest is already located in Tibet and though less popular, you can also climb Mt.Everest from the north ridge Tibet side.)
Route to the Mt.Everest peak from the north ridge side in Tibet
Scientists have calculated that after approximately two-five centuries, major portions of Mt.Everest will have spilled inside the border of Tibet, effectively causing an end to Nepal’s pride of having the world’s highest mountain. Professor Aprius P. Follies of the Seattle Institute of Science says, “After intense research of the Indian and Eurasian plate, we have discovered that the Indian plate is moving forward at a much faster rate of 6 cm/year than the Eurasian plate which only moves at 0.95 cm/year. This causes the Indian plate to push the Himalayas into the Eurasian plate and into Tibet’s border.” He also noted that the recent April Earthquake further accelerated the movement of the Indian plate caused the Indian plate to push 80 centimeters deeper into the Eurasian plate. He also provided an exclusive picture of estimated location of Mt.Everest after it enters Tibet border.
Click here to see the exclusive picture.
