List of extreme points of the United States

This is a list of points in the United States that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation, extreme distances, and other points of peculiar geographic interest.

Extreme points in the 50 states: Point Barrow, Ka Lae, Sail Rock, Peaked Island
Extreme points in the contiguous 48 states: Northwest Angle, Ballast Key, Sail Rock, Bodelteh Islands
Extreme points of the U.S. on the North American continent: Point Barrow, Cape Sable, West Quoddy Head, Cape Prince of Wales
Extreme points in all U.S. territory: Point Barrow, Rose Atoll, Wake Island, Peaked Island (red dots); Point Udall, Guam, and Point Udall, USVI are shown as green dots. The International Date Line is shown in yellow.

Northernmost points

Southernmost points

Easternmost points

Westernmost points

Interpretation of easternmost and westernmost

There are three methods for reckoning the eastern and western extremes of the United States.

One method is to use the Prime Meridian as the dividing line between east and west. This meridian running through Greenwich, London, is defined as zero degrees longitude and could be called the least eastern and least western place in the world. The 180th meridian, on the opposite side of the globe, is therefore the easternmost and westernmost place in the world.

Another method is to use the International Date Line as the easternmost–westernmost extreme. On the equinox, the easternmost place would be where the day first begins, and the westernmost is where the day last ends.

Still another method is to first determine the geographic center of the country and from there measure the shortest distance to every other point. All U.S. territory is spread across less than 180° of longitude, so from any spot in the U.S. it is more direct to reach the easternmost point, Point Udall, U.S. Virgin Islands, by traveling east than by traveling west. Likewise, there is not a single point in U.S. territory from which heading east is a shorter route to the westernmost point, Point Udall, Guam, than heading west would be, even accounting for circumpolar routes. The two different Point Udalls are named for two brothers from the Udall family of Arizona; Mo Udall (Guam) and Stewart Udall (Virgin Islands), sons of Chief Justice Levi Stewart Udall of the Arizona Supreme Court, both served as U.S. Congressman.[4]

Highest points

Lowest points

Other points

Islands

Lakes

Rivers

Extreme distances

Some map projections make diagonal lines appear longer than they actually are. The diagonal line from Kure Atoll, Hawaii, to West Quoddy Head, Maine, is 5,797 miles (9,329 km); and the diagonal from Cape Wrangell, Attu Island, Alaska, to Log Point, on Elliott Key, Florida, is 5,505 miles (8,859 km).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The summit of Mount Whitney is the highest point of the Sierra Nevada, the State of California, and the contiguous United States.
  2. ↑ The summit of Mount Elbert is the highest point of the Front Range and the Continental Divide of North America.
  3. ↑ The summit of Mauna Kea is the highest point of the Island of Hawaiʻi, the State of Hawaiʻi, and the entire Pacific Ocean. Mauna Kea is also the tallest mountain on Earth as measured from base to summit. The shield volcano sits on the ocean floor at a depth of 19,678 feet (5,998 m) for a total height of 33,474 feet (10,203 m).

References

  1. ↑ "49th Parallel". Internationalboundarycommission.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-13.
  2. ↑ "Quoddy Loop--Eastport, Quoddy Village, Moose Island, and Carlow Island, Maine". Quoddyloop.com. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. ↑ The Milepost 61st edition pg. 626 ISBN 978-1892-15426-2
  4. ↑ Donald Winslow Carson; James W. Johnson (2001). Life and times of Morris K. Udall. University of Arizona Press. p. 220. ISBN 0-8165-2049-6.
  5. ↑ Mark Newell; Blaine Horner (September 2, 2015). "New Elevation for Nation's Highest Peak" (Press release). USGS. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Mount Whitney". NGS Station Datasheet. United States National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mount Whitney". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ The summit elevation of Mount Whitney includes an adjustment of +1.869 m (+6.1 ft) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88.
  9. ↑ "Mount Elbert". NGS Station Datasheet. United States National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Mount Elbert". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Mauna Kea". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ "About Taos Ski Valley". Taos Ski Valley Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  13. ↑ "USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) 1 meter Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) National Elevation Data Set (NED)". United States Geological Survey. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Furnace Creek, in Death Valley, California, set the world record for the highest reliably reported ambient air temperature of 134 °F (57 °C), on July 10, 1913. This record has been eclipsed only once, by a questionable reading of 136 °F (58 °C), recorded in 'Aziziya, Libya, on September 13, 1922.
  15. ↑ Sounding at 46° 54' 31"N, 86° 35' 52"W, on NOAA chart 14963, Grand Marais to Big Bay Point, scale 1:120,000, 2006. Chart datum (as shown on the chart) is 601.1 feet above mean sea level, at Rimouski, Quebec.
  16. ↑ Two identical soundings at 47° 45.2'N, 122° 26.0'W, and 47° 44.6'N, 122° 25.4'W, on NOAA chart 18446, Puget Sound: Apple Cove Point to Keyport, scale 1:25,000, 2005. Chart datum (as shown on the chart) is lower low water.
  17. ↑ "Baker Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  18. ↑ "CIA World Factbook: Jarvis Island". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  19. ↑ "The Intel". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  20. ↑ The Canyoneers (1 June 2016). "No bay at Border Field State Park for about 7000 years". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
    Binkowski, Brooke (8 October 2012). "Friendship Park — A Link Between Two Countries — Opens Again". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved 6 April 2017. San Diego's Friendship Park, or Border Field State Park, is tucked into the extreme southwest corner of the United States and the extreme northwest of Mexico, with fields on the U.S. side, the city of Tijuana on the other, and the blue Pacific Ocean to the west.
    "Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Comprehensive Management Plan" (PDF). Office of Coastal Management. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. August 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  21. ↑ National Geographic Society (U. S.); National Geographic (2013). Guide to Scenic Highways & Byways. National Geographic. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4262-1014-3.
    Victoriah Arsenian (22 December 2015). Moon Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip: California, Oregon & Washington. Avalon Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-63121-029-7.
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ "Park Map Viewer". Nps.gov. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  24. ↑ "Adventure". Georgraphy.howstuffworks.com. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Services, Eastern Region Geography, Information. "Elevations and Distances". Pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
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