Mount Everest and surroundings, LiDAR satellite image. The peak of Mount Everest (red) is at centre. It is the tallest mountain in the world at 8848 metres. Surrounding it are other mountains of the Himalayas. LiDAR combines optical and laser imaging to produce digital elevation maps (DEMs), with differences in elevation shown by the colour-coding of the image. Image data obtained by the radar and optical sensors on the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).