Using the method of triangulation, a surveyor used a theodolite to "shoot the angle of the peak's rise" from two different locations, each of which had a known altitude. The explorer Louis Baume wrote "the calculation of the heights of Himalayan peaks is a realm of such erudite complexity than even angels armed with theodolites and plum lines would dare to tread within." After the data was collected it was taken to surveying offices where men calculated the heights using complex formulas.
To calculate the elevation of mountains early surveyors used precision theodolites (high-resolution telescopes that measure horizontal and vertical angles) to take measurements from several different places. Outside the United States, for Americans anyway, it is often the National Geographic Society. The final word on such measurements in the United States is the United States Geological Survey. Mountains do not have "official" heights because there is no officially designated international body that sorts out conflicting claims.
TIBET, THE HIMALAYAS, MELTING GLACIERS AND GLOBAL WARMING Measuring Mountains EVEREST AREA HIMALAYAN GLACIERS: IMPORTANCE, AVALANCHES AND DANGEROUS FLOODS GLACIERS: THEIR MECHANICS, STRUCTURE AND VOCABULARY AVALANCHES MOUNTAIN GLACIERS AND GLOBAL WARMING EVEREST: NAMES, GEOLOGY, WEATHER AND HEIGHT MEASURING ISSUES MOUNTAINS: TYPES, GEOLOGICAL FEATURES AND MEASURING THEM MT. See Separate Articles: TIBETAN NATURE GEOGRAPHY AND WEATHER OF TIBET Everest : Wikipedia Wikipedia Summit Post Summit Post Glaciers: All About Glaciers Wikipedia article on Glaciers Wikipedia Wikipedia article on Avalanches Wikipedia Websites and Sources: China Trekking China Trekking Summit Climb Summit Climb Trekking Tibet Trekking Tibet Himalayas Wikipedia article on the Himalayas Wikipedia Mt. Above the freezing line snow falls and may accumulate into glaciers. On average the temperature drops 1̊F for every 300 feet rise in elevation. This is because as air rises it expands and therefore cools. Valleys called grabbens often form and fill with sediment. Faults can cause the land to rise or fall. 2) synclines, folds that points downward 3) geosynclines, large synclines caused when sediments from mountain ranges bend down the crust. Mountain building features include: 1) anticlines, a folds that points upward like an arch. There are four types of mountains: 1) folded mountains, formed by pressure within the earth that caused uplifting 2) fault block mountains, formed by shifts along faults 3) dome mountains, formed by uplift by magma that doesn't break through the surface and 4) volcanos. Mountains with craggy peaks, sheer cliffs and spectacular Alpine features are usually that way because they have been carved and chiseled by glaciers and ice. Old mountains are smaller because the forces that built them ended long ago and they have been worn down by millions of years of weathering and erosion. New mountains tend be higher than old ones because they have been recently pushed up by these forces. Everest from Rombok Gompa,TibetMountains are often formed where tectonic plates collide and land is pushed upwards or to a lesser extent where magma rises towards the surfaces and causes the ground to swell and bulge or where faults move and crack.