Slight variations in Earth’s gravity field cause permanent hills and valleys in the ocean’s surface of over 300 feet relative to an ellipsoid.Īdditionally, the shape of the Earth is always changing. Sea level itself is even irregularly shaped. Mountains rising almost 30,000 feet and ocean trenches diving over 36,000 feet (compared to sea level) further distort the shape of the Earth.
This is due to the centrifugal force created by the earth’s constant rotation. Our planet is pudgier at the equator than at the poles by about 70,000 feet. However, even an ellipsoid does not adequately describe the Earth’s unique and ever-changing shape. While the Earth appears to be round when viewed from the vantage point of space, it is actually closer to an ellipsoid.
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