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While most people would probably use the terms ‘highest’ and ‘tallest’ interchangeably when referring to mountains, strictly speaking there is a difference between the two and each has a very different title holder.

The highest point in the world is indisputably the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at 8,850 meters, that is, 29,035 feet above sea level. This infamous Himalayan peak has claimed the lives of 219 mountaineers and although it is often said that nearby K2 is tougher to climb, Mt. Everest is still the summit every climber dreams of reaching.

The title of world’s tallest peak, however, is bestowed upon Mauna Kea in Hawaii. While its summit only stands at 4,205 meters or 13,796 feet above sea level, some 4645 meters below Mt. Everest, if measured from the mountain island’s beginnings on the ocean floor, Mauna Kea can actually be argued to stand some 10,000 meters tall. This argument only stands because Mauna Kea is both an island and a mountain.

With the limitations of human endurance at great depths, there is unlikely to be an attempt by either a mountaineer or a scuba diver to climb Mauna Kea’s total height, from the ocean floor to summit.