Hawaii, the Highest Mountain on Earth
Credit: Nils Sparwasser, Thorsten Andresen, Stephan Reiniger; Robert Meisner, German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth above sea level, but it’s not the world’s tallest mountain. That honor goes to the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea. When measured from its base on the Pacific Ocean floor, it is about 1,000 meters taller than Mount Everest. Mauna Kea is part of a 5,600-kilometer-long string of volcanoes stretching westward from the main Hawaiian island. Geographer Nils Sparwarrer and his colleagues at the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen introduces us to the Hawaiian volcanoes with this panoramic view across the Pacific Ocean.