List of U.S. states by elevation

The elevation of U.S. states may be described in several ways. These include:

• the elevation of their highest point;
• the elevation of their lowest point
• and the difference between (range of) their highest points and lowest points.

The following list is a comparison of elevation absolutes in the United States. Data include interval measures of highest and lowest elevation for all fifty states and Washington, D.C..

Which state is "highest" and "lowest" is determined by the definition of "high" and "low". For instance, Alaska could be regarded as the highest state because Mount McKinley, at 20,237 ft (6,168 m), is the highest point in the United States. However, Colorado, with the highest mean elevation of any state as well as the highest low point, could also be considered a candidate for "highest state". Determining which state is "lowest" is equally problematic. California contains the Badwater Basin in Death Valley, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level, the lowest point in the United States; while Florida has the lowest high point, and Delaware has the lowest mean elevation. Florida is also the flattest state, with the smallest difference between its highest and lowest points.

The list of highest points in each state is important to the sport of highpointing, where enthusiasts attempt to visit the highest point in each of the contiguous forty-eight states or in all fifty states. As of 2006, 155 people had reached all fifty state highpoints. Roughly 200â€"300 people attend the Highpointers Club convention each year.

All elevations in the table below have been adjusted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 unless otherwise noted. The mean elevation for each state is accurate to the nearest 100 ft (30 m).

Elevation table

Gallery

See also

• List of elevation extremes by country
• United States
  • U.S. state
    • Lists of U.S. states
      • Lists of highest points for other highpoint lists
  • Mountain peaks of the United States
    • Table of the highest major summits of the United States
    • Table of the most prominent summits of the United States
    • Table of the most isolated major summits of the United States
  • List of highest United States cities by state
• World Geodetic System
  • National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
  • North American Vertical Datum of 1988

References

External links

• United States National Geodetic Survey website
• United States Geological Survey website

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