The deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April and killed thousands of people was so powerful it moved Mount Everest.
The quake, which hit Nepal on April 25, devastated the city of Kathmandu and caused an avalanche on Everest. But the shaking also shifted the massive peak about an inch to the southwest, reversing the direction it was naturally and slowly moving. That’s all according to a survey by China’s National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, which state media reported on Monday, June 15.
Even though the massive mountain shifted, its height — just over 29,000 feet — stayed the same. And several other surrounding mountains moved as well.
Everest, located in the Himalayas on the border between China and Nepal, is world’s tallest mountain (unless you’re measuring from beneath the ocean.) It was created roughly 60 millions years ago when the Indian tectonic plate smashed up against the Eurasian plate.