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AMERICA'S 57 - the Ultras

57 Summits with Prominence of 5,000 feet or more (lower 48)

Compiled 1999 by Edward Earl, Andy Martin, John Roper, David Olson, Ken Jones and Ron Tagliapietra.

New Elevations added by Aaron Maizlish, 2005.
Accompanying map shows location of all summits.

This list is reprinted with permission from Andy Martin's County High Points, available from the author for $15 ppd.

NEW, 3/2/05:  Map of the America's 57 enhanced to show Lineage Cells:  Three versions of the map are online - detailed, outline with names, and a blank outline map for filling in.

last revised 5/19/2005

Rk. State Peak Name NEW
Elevation
(NAVD88 with
adjustments)
OLD
USGS Elevation
(used in prominence
calculation)
E (e) Prominence Saddle S (e) Footnotes

1 WA Mt. Rainier 14,411
14,410
13,197 1,214
[1]
2 CA Mt. Whitney 14,505
14,495
10,075 4,420 10 [2]
 3 CA Mt. Shasta
14,162
9,762 4,400 20
-
4 CO Mt. Elbert 14,440
14,433
9,073 5,360 40 -
5 WA Mt. Baker
10,781
8,881 1,900
-
6 CA San Jacinto Peak 10,842
10,831
8,311 2,520 40 [6]
7 CA San Gorgonio Mtn.
11,502
8,282 3,220 20 -
8 NV Charleston Peak
11,918
8,243 3,675 31 -
9 WA Mt. Adams
12,276
8,116 4,160
-
10 WA Mt. Olympus
7,969
7,829 140
-
11 OR Mt. Hood
11,239
7,679 3,560 40 -
12 NV Wheeler Peak 13,065
13,063
7,563 5,500 10 JP0339
13 WA Glacier Peak
10,520 40 7,480 3,040  
TQ0506
14 CA White Mtn. Peak 14,252
14,246
7,196 7,050
HR2559
15 WY Gannett Peak 13,809
13,804
7,074 6,730 10 OW0356
16 WY Cloud Peak 13,167
13,167
7,067 6,100 20 PW0524
17 WY Grand Teton 13,775
13,770
6,530 7,240 40 OX0838
18 OR Sacajawea Peak
9,838
6,388 3,450 10 -
19 UT Kings Peak
13,528
6,348 7,180 20 -
20 AZ Mt. Graham 10,724
10,720
6,320 4,400 40 CY1235
21 CA Mt. San Antonio
10,064
6,224 3,840 40 EV3735
22 CA Telescope Peak 11,043
11,048
6,168 4,880 40 GS0799
23 UT Mt. Peale
12,721
6,161 6,560 40 -
24 NH Mt. Washington
6,288
6,138 150 10 [24]
25 NC Mt. Mitchell 6,699
6,684
6,089 595 5 FB2736
26 AZ Humphreys Peak
12,633
6,039 6,594
-
27 ID Borah Peak 12,668
12,662
5,982 6,680 40 [27]
28 NV Mt. Jefferson
11,941
5,861 6,080 20 -
29 UT Mt. Ellen
11,522
5,842 5,680 40 -
30 UT Deseret Peak 11,035
11,031
5,811 5,220 20 LP0457
31 OR Mt. Jefferson
10,497
5,777 4,720 40 -
32 NV Pilot Peak 10,720
10,716
5,726 4,990 10 MT0738
33 MT Crazy Peak
11,209
5,709 5,500 20 -
34 MT McDonald Peak
9,820
5,640 4,180 20 -
35 OR South Sister
10,358
5,578 4,780 20 -
36 NM Sierra Blanca Peak 11,981
11,973
5,533 6,440 40 DR1010
37 CO Pikes Peak 14,115
14,110
5,510 8,600 40 -
38 UT Mt. Nebo
11,928
5,488 6,440 40 -
39 MT Snowshoe Peak
8,738
5,418 3,320 40 -
40 NV North Schell Peak
11,883
5,403 6,480 20 -
41 NV Star Peak 9,840
9,836
5,396 4,440
LS0554
42 NV Hayford Peak 9,924
9,912
5,392 4,520 40 GR1917
43 ID Diamond Peak 12,202
12,197
5,377 6,820 20 PZ0750
44 UT Flat Top Mtn.
10,620
5,370 5,250 25 -
45 WA Mt. Stuart
9,415
5,335 4,080
-
46 CO Blanca Peak 14,349
14,345
5,305 9,040 40 -
47 UT Mt. Timpanogos 11,752
11,750
5,270 6,480 20 LO0769
48 UT Ibapah Peak
12,109
5,269 6,840 40 -
49 CA Lassen Peak 10,462
10,457
5,229 5,228
LT4688
50 MT Mt. Cleveland 10,479
10,466
5,226 5,240 40 TM1009
51 NV Arc Dome
11,773
5,213 6,560 40 -
52 ID He/She Devil
9,400
5,200 4,200 40 -
53 WA Abercrombie Mtn.
7,308
5,168 2,140
-
54 AZ Mt. Lemmon
9,157
5,157 4,000 40 -
55 AZ Chiricahua Peak
9,759
5,139 4,620 20 -
56 CA Mt. Eddy 9,037
9,025
5,105 3,920 40 MX1043
57 AZ Miller Peak
9,466
5,006 4,460 10 -


FOOTNOTES:

NEW ELEVATION:  All of the elevations that we grew up with, those that still appear on the USGS 7.5' maps, are outmoded.  Substantial advances in geodesy (the scientific measurement of the earth's shape) have rendered obsolete the vertical datum on which they were based.   "New Elevations" in this table improve on existing elevations in two ways:  1.  The NAVD88 elevations have been applied.  NAVD88 is the newer vertical datum for North America that is compatible with commercial GPS units.  2.  I have added footage to mountains in the frequent instance where the benchmark (published) elevation is known to fall short of the true summit.  More detailed notes on both of these adjustments will appear in a future article in the theory section of this website.  Virtually all new elevations will range between -5' and +15'.

OLD ELEVATION:  The "New Elevations" may be interesting in their own right, but they aren't useful for prominence calculations.  This is simply because all of our saddle data is based on topographic maps that used the older, NGVD29, vertical datum.  Since prominence is a measurement of the difference between two values, it will be more accurate to compare apples and apples. 

MOUNTAINS:

Six digit codes in the footnotes section refer to the benchmark PIDs that reference the summit on the National Geodetic Survey website.

[1]  Rainier:  Summit reference is a definitive GPS survey published in Point of Beginning, 2000.  The key saddle is in the town of Armstrong, BC.  The 1:50,000 DEM for BC gives the saddle a low value of 359m (1,178').  According to Robin Tivy, the 1:50,000 Canadian map puts the KS between 360m and 380m.  Therefore a new saddle value of 370m (1,214') has been assumed pending further investigation.

[2]  Whitney:  The USGS 7.5' provisional map gives a value of 14,491'.  This was in error, likely based on the reading of a benchmark that was not on the true summit.  The old elevation value for Mt. Whitney was 14,494' and then 14,495'.  The NAVD88 value for the highest benchmark,  TQ0506, is 14,505'.

[6]   San Jacinto:  The 7.5' quad elevation of 10,804' is erroneous.  The correct NGVD29 elevation should have been 10,831'.  In addition the benchmark rests 8' below the natural summit for a total elevation of 10,839'.  The newer NAVD88 elevation is 10,834'+8'=10,842'.


[24]  Washington:  The Key Saddle is on the Champlain Canal near Hudson Falls, New York, 43º18'59"N, 73º31'46"W.  Note that the prominence and saddle elevation were corrected 3/13/2005.


[27]  Borah:  See also the Americas Roof report on Borah that explores the rumor that Borah gained 7' elevation in a 1983 7.0 earthquake.  The NGS benchmark PID is PZ0770 "Beauty Reset".