The following sortable table comprises the 209 most topographically isolated

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 m ...

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 ...

(including its

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

) with at least of

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 ...

.This article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of

, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. All summits in this article have at least 500 meters of topographic prominence. An

ultra-prominent summit An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fro ...

is a summit with at least of topographic prominence. The

summit 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 m ...

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 § Ve ...

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 Dat ...

(

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). For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Surveybr>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 co ...

is shown. #The

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 ...

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 ...

is the Isthmus of Rivas in

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 coun ...

, 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 mounta ...

(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 st ...

to its nearest point of equal elevation. In the United States, only

exceeds of topographic isolation. 3 summits exceed , 8 exceed , 13 exceed , 47 exceed , 113 exceed , and 214 major summits exceed of topographic isolation. __TOC__

Most isolated major summits

The list below contains the 200 most isolated major summits in the 50 states and District of Columbia, plus an additional 9 major isolated summits in the U.S. territories, for a total of 209 summits. Of these 209 most isolated major summits of the United States, 63 are located in Alaska, 19 in Montana, 16 in California, 14 in Utah, 13 in Nevada, 12 in Colorado, 12 in Arizona, 10 in Wyoming, 7 in Washington, 7 in Oregon, 6 in New Mexico, 5 in the Northern Mariana Islands, 4 in Hawaii, 3 in Idaho, 3 in Texas, 2 in North Carolina, 2 in Maine, 2 in New York, 2 in American Samoa, 2 in Puerto Rico, and one each in New Hampshire, Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Two of these summits lie on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia 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 ...

on the Island of Hawaii is the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base to summit. Mount Whitney 2003-03-25.jpg, 3.

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 ...

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 primar ...

and California. Mount Mitchell 640x480.jpg, 4.

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 su ...

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. The ...

. File:AgriganAgrihanUSGS.jpg, 5. The summit of the Island of Agrihan is the highest summit in the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

and the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

archipelago. Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.JPG, 6.

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 Rainier 5917s.JPG, 7.

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 ...

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, ...

. Mt. Elbert.jpg, 8.

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 ...

. Shishaldin.jpg, 9. Mount Shishaldin on

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 ...

is the highest summit of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

. Tanaga2003.jpg, 10. Tanaga Volcano 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

. MtShasta aerial.JPG, 13.

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 Cascad ...

in California is the highest summit of the southern

. Gannet Peak with Gannett Glacier.jpg, 14.

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 Fremo ...

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 in ...

and Wyoming. Humphreys Peak KPW.jpg, 17.

Humphreys Peak Humphreys Peak ( hop, Aaloosaktukwi, nv, Dookʼoʼoosłííd) is the highest natural point and the second most prominent peak after Mount Graham in the U.S. state of Arizona, with an elevation of and is located within the Kachina Peaks Wildern ...

is the highest summit of the

San Francisco Peaks The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , es, Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaj ...

and Arizona. File:Cerro_de_Punta_as_seen_from_Museo_de_Arte_de_Ponce,_Ponce,_Puerto_Rico_(DSC03460).jpg, 18.

Cerro de Punta Cerro de Punta or just Cerro Punta is the highest peak in Puerto Rico, rising to above sea level.As of February, 1981, the US Geological Survey reports the height as 1,328 meters. (See''Geographic Names Information System: Feature Query Result ...

is the highest summit of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, and the highest summit of the United States located outside the 50 states. Kings Peak Close Up.jpg, 26. Kings Peak is the highest summit of the

Uinta Range The Uinta Mountains ( ) are an east-west trending chain of mountains in northeastern Utah extending slightly into southern Wyoming in the United States. As a subrange of the Rocky Mountains, they are unusual for being the highest range in the ...

and Utah. BorahPeakID.jpg, 33.

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 ...

is the highest summit of the Lost River Range and Idaho. Harneygranite.jpg, 36. Black Elk Peak is the highest summit of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

and South Dakota. Mount Hayes.jpg, 44.

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. ThBo ...

. Fairweather.jpg, 47.

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 Oce ...

lies on the Alaska-British Columbia international border. Granite Peak Montana 2.jpg, 68.

Granite Peak Mountains named Granite Peak or variations. Canada In Canada, according tNRCan CGNDB United States In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a ...

is the highest summit of the Beartooth Range and Montana. Haleakalā, Peak Shadow.jpg, 86. Haleakalā 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 ...

. Grand Teton in Winter-NPS.jpg, 99.

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 ...

in Wyoming is the highest summit of the Teton Range. Pikes Peak CO.jpg, 121.

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

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 ...

''. MtBlackburn-KennicottGlacier.jpg, 116.

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. File:Matafao_Peak_National_Natural_Landmark.jpg, 122.

Matafao Peak Matafao Peak (Samoan: Fa’asi’usi’uga o Matafao) is a mountain in American Samoa, on the island of Tutuila. With an elevation of 653 meters (2,142 ft), it is the highest peak on Tutuila Island. The mountain, like Rainmaker Mountain acr ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

is the highest summit of the island of Tutuila (the main island of American Samoa). Mt. Redoubt2009.jpg, 125. Redoubt Volcano is the highest summit of the Aleutian Range. Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake, Oregon.jpg, 129.

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 Portl ...

is the highest summit of Oregon. Mt. Bona, Alaska.jpg, 144.

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. Wrangells1.jpg, 164. Mount Sanford in Alaska is the third highest volcano in the United States. Wheeler Peak 2006.jpg, 183. Wheeler Peak is the highest summit of New Mexico.

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:Isolated Major Summits Of The United States, List Of The Most *Isolated United States, List Of The Most Isolated Major Summits Of The

Most isolated major summits

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links