Mount Everest Moves More Than an Inch Southwest After Nepal Earthquake

The incredible energy unleashed by the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25 moved Mount Everest more than an inch.

The world's tallest mountain shifted 1.18 inches to the southwest during the quake, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper, which cited a new report by China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.



Cameras Capture Dramatic Moments as Earthquake Shakes Nepal 1:08

The shift was a small leap back for the mountain, which has been creeping northeastward at a rate of about 1.5 inches a year, the agency reported. The mountain also rises about 0.1 inch each year. This motion is caused by the slow, grinding collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, which pushes the ground upward.



But Everest's movement during the quake was small potatoes compared with the shifting of regions around Kathmandu, Nepal's capital during the quake.

"Everest is kind of like a distraction from the whole story," said Richard Briggs, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Golden, Colorado.

Credit to NBC