The following sortable table comprises the 200 most topographically prominent

mountain peaks A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: #The

topographic elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vertic ...

of a summit measures the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.All elevations in the 48 states of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

include an elevation adjustment from the

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 is the official name since 1973 of the vertical datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America by the General Adjustment of 1929. Originally known as Sea Level Datum ...

(

NGVD 29 The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 is the official name since 1973 of the vertical datum established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America by the General Adjustment of 1929. Originally known as Sea Level Datum ...

) to the

North American Vertical Datum of 1988 The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) is the vertical datum for orthometric heights established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988. ...

(

NAVD 88 The North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) is the vertical datum for orthometric heights established for vertical control surveying in the United States of America based upon the General Adjustment of the North American Datum of 1988. ...

). For further information, please see this

United States National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

br>note
If the elevation or prominence of a summit is calculated as a range of values, the

arithmetic mean In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( ) or arithmetic average, or just the ''mean'' or the ''average'' (when the context is clear), is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of numbers in the collection. The colle ...

is shown. #The

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of a summit is a measure of how high the summit rises above its surroundings.The

of a summit is the

difference between the summit and its highest or key col to a higher summit. The summit may be near its key col or quite far away. The key col for

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

is the

Isthmus of Rivas The Nicaraguan Canal ( es, Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) was a proposed shipping route through Nicaragua to connect th ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, away. #The

topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain ...

(or radius of dominance) of a summit measures how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.The

of a summit is the

great-circle distance The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance along a great circle. It is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere, measured along the surface of the sphere (as opposed to a ...

to its nearest point of equal elevation. Denali is one of only three summits on Earth with more than 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) of topographic prominence. Three summits of the United States possess a prominence greater than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), six exceed 3,500 meters (11,483 feet), ten exceed 3,000 meters (9,843 feet), 19 exceed 2,500 meters (8202 feet), 45 exceed 2,000 meters (6,562 feet), 128 ultra-prominent summits exceed 1,500 meters (4,921 feet), and 264 major summits exceed 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) of topographic prominence. __TOC__

Most prominent summits

Of these 200 most prominent summits of the United States, 84 are located in Alaska, 17 in California, 17 in Nevada, 14 in Washington, 12 in Montana, 11 in Utah, nine in Arizona, seven in Colorado, seven in Hawaii, six in Oregon, four in Wyoming, four in Idaho, four in New Mexico, two in North Carolina, and one each in New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Maine. Four of these peaks lie on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia, four lie on the international border between Alaska and Yukon, and one lies on the state border between Tennessee and North Carolina.

Gallery

Denali Mt McKinley.jpg, 1.

in Alaska is the highest summit of the United States and all of North America. KeckObservatory.jpg, 2.

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...

on the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

is the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base to summit. Mount Rainier 5917s.JPG, 3.

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

is the highest summit of Washington and the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. Fairweather.jpg, 4.

Mount Fairweather Mount Fairweather (officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in Canada but referred to as Mount Fairweather), is the highest mountain in the Canadian province of British Columbia, with an elevation of . It is located east of the Pacific Ocean ...

lies on the Alaska-British Columbia international border. MtBlackburn-KennicottGlacier.jpg, 5.

Mount Blackburn Mount Blackburn is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska in the United States. It is the fifth-highest peak in the United States and the twelfth-highest peak in North America. The mountain is an old, eroded shield volcano, the se ...

in Alaska is the highest summit of the

Wrangell Mountains The Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range of eastern Alaska in the United States. Much of the range is included in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve. The Wrangell Mountains are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and they i ...

. Mount Hayes.jpg, 6.

Mount Hayes Mount Hayes is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Fa ...

is the highest summit of the eastern

Alaska Range The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...

. Mt Saint Elias.jpg, 7.

Mount Saint Elias Mount Saint Elias (also designated Boundary Peak 186), the second-highest mountain in both Canada and the United States, stands on the Yukon and Alaska border about southwest of Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada. The Canadian side of ...

is the second highest summit of both Canada and the United States. Mount Whitney 2003-03-25.jpg, 9.

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...

highest summit of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and California. Haleakalā, Peak Shadow.jpg, 10.

Haleakalā Haleakalā (; Hawaiian: ), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, also referred to as the West ...

is the highest summit of the

Island of Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

. MtShasta aerial.JPG, 11.

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

in California is the highest summit of the southern

. Shishaldin.jpg, 12.

Mount Shishaldin Shishaldin Volcano, or Mount Shishaldin (), is a moderately active volcano on Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands chain of Alaska in the United States.

Unimak Island Unimak Island ( ale, Unimax, russian: Унимак) is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. Geography It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of , the ninth largest island in the U ...

is the highest summit of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

. Mt. Redoubt2009.jpg, 13. Redoubt Volcano is the highest summit of the

Aleutian Range The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range located in southwest Alaska. It extends from Chakachamna Lake (80 miles/130 km southwest of Anchorage) to Unimak Island, which is at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountain ...

. Mt. Elbert.jpg, 14.

Mount Elbert Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains, the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States (after Mount Whitney). The ultra-prominent fourteener is the highest pea ...

is the highest summit of Colorado and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake, Oregon.jpg, 28.

Mount Hood Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the Pacific coast and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located about east-southeast of Portlan ...

is the highest summit of Oregon. Wrangells1.jpg, 29. Mount Sanford in Alaska is the third highest volcano in the United States. MountForaker.jpg, 35.

Mount Foraker Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

is the second highest major summit of the

. Aa channel flow from Mauna Loa.jpg, 38.

Mauna Loa Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and ...

on the

is the most voluminous mountain on Earth. Gannet Peak with Gannett Glacier.jpg, 40.

Gannett Peak Gannett Peak is the highest mountain peak in the U.S. state of Wyoming at . It lies in the Wind River Range within the Bridger Wilderness of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Straddling the Continental Divide along the boundary between Frem ...

is the highest summit of the

Wind River Range The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short) is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW–SE for approximately . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and inclu ...

and Wyoming. Mt. Bona, Alaska.jpg, 43.

Mount Bona Mount Bona is one of the major mountains of the Saint Elias Mountains in eastern Alaska, and is the fifth-highest independent peak in the United States.This counts both the North and South Peaks of Denali (Mount McKinley), which is not a universal ...

in Alaska is the highest volcano in the United States. Grand Teton in Winter-NPS.jpg, 46.

Grand Teton Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering. Geography Grand Teton, at , is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in t ...

in Wyoming is the highest summit of the

Teton Range The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park and ...

. Kings Peak Close Up.jpg, 49. Kings Peak is the highest summit of the Uinta Range and Utah. Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.JPG, 59.

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...

is the highest summit of the White Mountains and New Hampshire. Mount Mitchell 640x480.jpg, 62.

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subra ...

is the highest summit of North Carolina and the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. Humphreys Peak KPW.jpg, 64.

Humphreys Peak , photo = San Francisco Peaks, winter.jpg , photo_caption = Humphreys Peak in winter 2004 , elevation_ft = 12637 , elevation_ref = , prominence_ft = 6039 , prominence_ref = , range = San Francisco Peaks , isolation = , listing = , ...

is the highest summit of the San Francisco Peaks and Arizona. BorahPeakID.jpg, 65.

Borah Peak Borah Peak, also known as Mount Borah or Beauty Peak, is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Idaho and one of the most prominent peaks in the contiguous United States. It is located in the central section of the Lost River Range, within th ...

is the highest summit of the

Lost River Range The Lost River Range is a high mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, located in Central Idaho, in the Northwestern United States. It runs southeast for approximately from the Salmon River near the community of Challis to the Snake River Val ...

and Idaho. Tanaga2003.jpg, 68.

Tanaga Volcano Tanaga ( ale, Kusuuginax̂) is a 5,924-foot (1,806 m) stratovolcano in the Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. There have been three known eruptions since 1763. The most recent was in 1914 and produced lava flows. It sits west of ano ...

is the highest summit of

Tanaga Island Tanaga Island ( ale, Tanax̂ax; russian: остров Танага) is an island in the western Andreanof Islands, in the southwest part of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The island has a land area of , making it the 33rd largest oceanic island i ...

in the

. Pikes Peak CO.jpg, 89.

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...

in Colorado was the inspiration for ''

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two neve ...

''. Granite Peak Montana 2.jpg, 142. Granite Peak is the highest summit of the

Beartooth Range The Beartooth Mountains are located in south central Montana and northwest Wyoming, United States, U.S. and are part of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, within Custer National Forest, Custer, Gallatin National Forest, Gallatin and Shoshone Natio ...

and Montana. Mt. Hunter from NW (Kahilta Base Camp).jpg, 152. Mount Hunter is the third highest major summit of the

Notes

References

External links

United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Geographic Names Information System @ USGSUnited States National Geodetic Survey (NGS)

Geodetic Glossary @ NGS

NGVD 29 to NAVD 88 online elevation converter @ NGS

Survey Marks and Datasheets @ NGSBivouac.comPeakbagger.comPeaklist.orgSummitpost.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prominent Summits Of The United States, List Of The Most *Prominent United States, List Of The Most Prominent Summits Of The

Most prominent summits

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links