There are two secret mountains on Earth that are 100 times taller than Everest. Discover their hidden locations (photos included).

Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the summit of Everest in 1953, conquering the highest peak in the world has been a primary goal for nearly every mountaineer on Earth. However, scientists now claim that the height of Everest pales in comparison to two secret mountains that are 100 times taller, reports Daily Mail.

The height of Everest is known to be 8,800 meters, while the height of the secret mountains is an astounding 1,000 kilometers. Fortunately for climbers, none of us will ever be able to ascend these peaks — they are hidden beneath the Earth's surface at a depth of about 2,000 kilometers.

According to the lead author of the study, Dr. Arven Deuss, he and his team calculated that the age of the mountains is at least half a billion years. However, scientists do not rule out the possibility that the secret mountains may actually date back to the time of our planet's formation — around four billion years ago.

It is known that the two gigantic mountains lie beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean, at the boundary between the core and mantle of the Earth — a semi-solid area beneath the crust. Dr. Deuss notes that no one knows what they are, and whether they are a temporary phenomenon or have existed for millions or even billions of years.

The giant peaks are surrounded by a "graveyard" of sunken tectonic plates that were previously pushed from the surface of the planet in a process known as subduction. In their new work, scientists discovered that the secret mountains are much hotter than the surrounding crustal plates and are millions of years older.

It is worth noting that the existence of giant structures in the depths of the Earth's mantle is not a new discovery. Scientists have known about their existence for several decades — this has been made possible by tracking how seismic shock waves from earthquakes propagate through the planet's interior. When a powerful earthquake occurs, it sends ripples through the Earth, sending waves running back and forth. When these seismic waves pass through something dense or hot, they slow down, weaken, or are completely reflected — all of this together allows scientists to explore the Earth's interior.

Previous studies have already shown that there are two enormous areas of the mantle where shock waves slow down dramatically — they are called Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVP). In the new study, the team found that waves slow down in these structures because they are hot. When waves pass through an area that is much hotter, they require significantly more energy to travel through it.

However, when the researchers examined the data, they were surprised to find a completely different picture. According to the study's authors, contrary to their expectations, scientists discovered a slight attenuation in the areas, causing tones to sound very loud there. At the same time, significant attenuation was found in the cold plate graveyard — here tones sounded very quiet. Rock pieces from the crust cause significant attenuation because they recrystallize into a dense structure as they descend toward the core.

The study's authors note that all of this indicates that the hidden mountains likely consist of much larger grains than the surrounding plates — they do not absorb as much energy from the passing seismic waves. According to Deuss, such mineral grains do not grow quickly — this suggests that the hidden mountains are likely much older than the surrounding plate graveyards.

Researchers estimate that these underground mountains are at least half a billion years old. But they could be much older, possibly even dating back to the formation of the Earth itself. Interestingly, such conclusions contradict the prevailing theory that the Earth's mantle is constantly in motion.

While the mantle is not actually liquid, it moves like a liquid over extremely long periods of time. It was previously believed that the mantle, in this way, is "well mixed" by current flows. But now scientists are skeptical.