FACTBOX: Five facts about Everest, roof of the world

(Reuters) - The Olympic flame reached the top of Mount Everest on Thursday, an emotional moment for China and the crowning of the Beijing Olympics torch relay.

Here are five facts about Everest, the world's highest mountain:

LOCATION - Everest straddles the Himalayan border between Nepal and China's Tibet.

HEIGHT - In 1999, a U.S. team using satellite technology put the height at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet), slightly higher than the widely accepted 8,848 meters. But China says it should be 8,844.43 meters above sea level after a 2005 remeasurement produced the "most detailed and precise" data on the height so far.

NAME - The mountain was named after Sir George Everest, a British surveyor, in 1865. Nepalis call the mountain Sagarmatha, literally "head of the ocean" or "head of the sea". Tibetans and Chinese call it Qomolangma, or Chomolungma, after the goddess Jomo Miyolangsangma.

SUMMITEERS - The first ascent of the peak was by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. As of 2003, more than 1,200 people from 63 countries, including 75 women, had scaled the peak. Some 211, including six women, climbed the mountain more than once. As of 2003, 175 people had died on Mount Everest, 42 while descending after reaching the summit. Many of the bodies remain on the mountain.

MAJOR ROUTES - From Nepal: Southeast Ridge (the traditional South Col route); West Ridge; Southwest Face; South Pillar. From Tibet: North Col-North Ridge; North Face; East Face; Northeast Ridge; East Ridge.

Sources: Reuters.

(Reporting by Guo Shipeng; Editing by Nick Macfie and Valerie Lee)