Nepal Earthquake Shrank Mount Everest, Lifted Areas Near Kathmandu 3 Feet

http://www.wunderground.com/news/nepal-earthquake-everest-shrinks-kathmandu-lifted

Nepal's massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake transformed the land that was shaken by the natural disaster, pushing areas near the city of Kathmandu higher in elevation and making Mount Everest slightly shorter.

It won't be enough to unseat Everest as the world's tallest peak, but according to studies performed after last weekend's temblor, the mountain is now an inch shorter than before the quake. On the other hand, some locations just outside Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu were lifted 3 feet higher than before the tragic event, the study also found...

...Tim Wright, geophysicist at the University of Leeds in the U.K., told Live Science that the region lifted by the earthquake was some 75 miles long by 30 miles wide. The biggest lift occurred just 10 miles outside of Kathmandu, he added, which contributed to the widespread damage in the city.

Geoscience research consortium UNAVCO confirmed the 1-inch shrink in Everest to Live Science, explaining that the mountain's slump occurred when the crust relaxed in areas north of the epicenter when the Earth released strain following the quake. On the other hand, the report added, the Himalayas are rising about four-tenths of an inch every year, so the deficit won't last long....