Chimborazo is the highest point in Ecuador, reaching 6,263 metres above sea level in the Andes.
It is a currently inactive stratovolcano whose summit is covered by glaciers. Because Earth bulges around the equator, Chimborazo’s summit is farther from Earth’s centre than the summit of Mount Everest, even though Everest is higher when measured above sea level.
This unusual comparison is the source of the claim that Chimborazo is the point on Earth’s surface farthest from the planet’s centre. The result depends on the measurement used, so it does not mean Chimborazo is Earth’s highest mountain by elevation.
The mountain lies near the equator in Ecuador’s Cordillera Occidental. Cotopaxi, another famous Ecuadorian volcano, is an active and highly symmetrical cone, but it is lower than Chimborazo and is not the country’s highest summit.