Mount Everest did not rise from a sea. It is a continental mountain, formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

The area where Mount Everest is located was once covered by a shallow sea, called the Tethys Sea, but this sea was closed up millions of years ago as the two tectonic plates collided. The collision forced the land upwards, creating the Himalayas, including Mount Everest.