River ‘piracy’ gave towering Everest a growth spurt, scientists say

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Thousands of years ago in the Himalayas, a river ate a smaller river and gave an unexpected boost to Everest’s height, scientists have discovered.

Mount Everest, or Chomolungma (“Goddess Mother of the World” in the Tibetan language), is one of Earth’s tallest mountains, standing 29,031.69 feet (8,848.86 meters) above sea level. Everest’s origin story began about 40 million to 50 million years ago, when landmasses on two slabs of Earth’s crust — the India Plate and the Eurasian Plate — collided in slow motion and crumpled the terrain, raising rocky peaks that over millions of years became the Himalayan mountain range. Everest is the highest of those peaks by about 820 feet (250 meters).

DHAKA, BANGLADESH — 2018/01/11: Several boats seen on the river Ganga. Bangladesh is a country on water. With huge portion of its territory in the river delta of Ganga (which is called Padma here) and Brahmaputra, people have to live on water and rely on water transport. Huge ferries «made in Bangladesh» leave river ports to transport tens of thousands of passengers every day to their destinations. Most of them just with poor — or none — radar equipment. Although many bad news about accidents, the fact is, that the river transport still remains the safest and effective. (Photo by Jana Cavojska/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Related article A fresh roadside pit revealed a dramatic shift in the Ganges. Scientists say they’ve traced the cause

That ancient collision is still lifting the Himalayas. However, recent GPS measurements showed that Everest was growing at a rate of about