Giant Hidden Mountains Inside Earth, Taller than Everest

A study has discovered giant mountain structures hidden deep within the Earth. Some of them extend more than 1,000 kilometres, far taller than Everest.

Two large structures were found beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean. Each structure, named Tuzo and Jason, lies 2,000 km below the Earth’s surface.

The mountain beneath the Pacific stretches 3,000 km, nearly as wide as the Moon. Combined, these structures account for 6% of the Earth’s total volume, according to Science Focus.

Although called mountains, these two structures are known as Large Low-Velocity Provinces (LLVPs) — regions with massive low-velocity waves. This means the areas slow the passage of seismic waves.

Research led by seismologist Arwen Deuss of Utrecht University in the Netherlands sought to understand how seismic waves lose energy or experience attenuation as they pass through LLVPs.

The team found that the waves lose only a small amount of energy. More energy is lost when waves pass through tectonic plate regions located nearby.

According to the team, this finding indicates the presence of mineral grains that form the plates and the subsurface mountain structures. These grains are quite small and tightly packed, making it difficult for seismic waves to pass through.

This discovery also gave rise to a theory that remnants of a foreign planet that collided with Earth in its early formation period are present. The debris later formed the Moon.

However, this was refuted by a 2025 study. A team led by James Panton of Cardiff University found that the two structures have different compositions and formed at a more recent time.

“We found that the Pacific LLVP is rich in subducted oceanic crust material. This means Earth’s relatively recent subduction history is the cause of these differences,” said Panton.