The following list is a comparison of elevation absolutes in United States of America. Data includes interval measures of highest and lowest elevation for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Location names, mean elevation, and the numeric differences between high and low elevations are also provided.[1]
Nominal absolutes of "highest" and "lowest" are relative to the criterion by which such qualifiers are measured. For instance, Alaska could be regarded as the highest state because Mount McKinley, at Vorlage:Convert, is the highest point in the United States.[2] However, Colorado, with the highest mean elevation of any state, could also be considered a candidate for "highest state." Determining which state is "lowest" is equally problematic. For instance, Florida has the lowest high point and the least difference between highest and lowest point; Delaware has the lowest mean elevation; and California has the lowest point in the United States—Death Valley's Badwater, at Vorlage:Convert below sea level.[3]
The list of highest points in each state are important to the sport of highpointing, where enthusiasts attempt to visit the highest point in each of the contiguous continental forty-eight states or in all fifty states.[4] As of 2006, 155 people successfully traversed all fifty state highpoints.[5] Roughly 200–300 people attend the Highpointers Club convention each year.[6]
In the list below, the elevations shown rely on the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 unless otherwise noted.Vorlage:Ref label The mean elevation for each state is accurate to the nearest Vorlage:Convert.
Elevation data
See also
- Highest mountain peaks of the United States
- Lists of highest points for other highpoint lists
Note
Vorlage:Note label The National Geodetic Survey defines a vertical datum to be "a set of constants specifying the coordinate system used ... for calculating the coordinate points on the Earth", which is independent of geodetic measurements of specific points on the Earth.[9]
References
External links
Vorlage:USStateLists Vorlage:U.S. State Highest Points Vorlage:Featured list
- ↑ a b c d e f Extreme and Mean Elevations by State and Other Areas. (PDF) United States Census, 2004.
- ↑ a b c U.S. State Highpoints. In: summitpost.org.
- ↑ Badwater. United States Geological Survey, 13. Januar 2004.
- ↑ Don W. Holmes: Highpoints of the United States: A Guide to the Fifty State Summits. University of Utah Press, 2000, ISBN 0-87480-645-3.
- ↑ Stephen Regenold: Seeing the highpoints of every state In: Associated press, June 10, 2006
- ↑ Highpointers Club Frequently Asked Questions. In: highpointers.org.
- ↑ a b U.S. State High Points. In: peakbagger.com.
- ↑ Arikaree River - lowest point in Colorado.
- ↑ What is a geodetic datum? In: Frequently Asked Questions about the National Geodetic Survey.