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Nature · Principal summit · bounded southern view

Makalu: terrain elevation and local relief

Makalu uses an approximately 8,243-meter surface estimate in EGM2008 from Copernicus GLO-30. The bounded terrain section has about 3,845 meters of local relief above its lowest sampled point. Published summit surveys are separate references.

Makalu, Principal summit · bounded southern view. Highest sampled surface in the documented Copernicus terrain section · EGM2008: 8242.9 meters, data-derived estimate.
Data-derived neutral shaded surface, looking north with a horizontal orthographic camera. Horizontal and vertical scales are equal. Lower and surrounding terrain is omitted; fine summit details, vegetation and structures depend on the surface dataset. No photograph is stretched to a summit elevation.

8,243 m

Data-derived estimate
Measurement
Highest sampled surface in the documented Copernicus terrain section · EGM2008
Subject or version
Principal summit · bounded southern view
In feet, rounded
27,043.7 ft (1 ft = 0.3048 m)
Compare in terrain mode

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Terrain boundary, base and datum
Vertical reference
EGM2008. Published surveys are separate; no datum conversion is applied.
Highest sampled surface
8242.9 m at 27.891389°, 87.088611°.
Local base
4397.6 m at 27.920833°, 87.143611°. Lowest sampled point within this bounded terrain section.
Section bounds in WGS84-G1150
West 87.032917°, east 87.144583°; south 27.858472°, north 27.921528°.
View and scale
Orthographic map section facing north. Equal horizontal and vertical map scales. Approximate grid spacing: 27.4 m east-west and 30.8 m north-south. Lower and surrounding terrain omitted.

produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved

A little more perspective

The Nepal Tourism Board page reviewed here lists Makalu at 8,463 meters. This coarse Copernicus section reaches about 8,243 meters, substantially below that published reference. The model does not resolve the sharp summit adequately for a precise summit survey. Its original surface is preserved without moving the peak to match a preferred published number.

The local-relief view subtracts the lowest sampled point in this section: 4397.6 meters at 27.920833° latitude, 87.143611° longitude. This produces about 3,845 meters of relief within the stated boundary. It is not a universal mountain base, a route’s total ascent, or topographic prominence.

The rendered surface uses the public 2021 Copernicus release, primarily based on TanDEM-X observations from 2011–2015 with infill from other sources. It is a surface model rather than a current bare-earth survey. Neutral shading explains the geometry without claiming a snow season or photographic ground texture. No datum conversion or summit correction is applied.

Quick facts

Makalu uses an approximately 8,243-meter surface estimate in EGM2008 from Copernicus GLO-30. The bounded terrain section has about 3,845 meters of local relief above its lowest sampled point. Published summit surveys are separate references.

For a presentation or a research note, include the subject, the measurement definition, and the measurement used. A picture alone cannot explain those choices. The comparison guide explains how to export an image and its source notes together.

Sources and measurement notes

The approximately 8,243-meter model maximum is a coarse surface estimate. The cited tourism page’s 8,463-meter value is independent and is not used to stretch the artwork.

Source review recorded . Maintained by Ishan Karunaratne. Suggest a correction with a source and the exact measurement being compared.

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