In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has 53 fourteeners, the most of any single state. Alaska has 29, the second most of any single state. Many peak baggers try to climb all fourteeners in the contiguous United States, or in one particular state, or in another region.
Qualification criteria The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways: Topographic elevation is the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.All elevations in the 48 contiguous United States include an elevation adjustment from the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Survey note.If the elevation or prominence of a summit is calculated as a range of values, the arithmetic mean is shown. Topographic prominence is how high the summit rises above its surroundings.The topographic prominence of a summit is the topographic elevation 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 in Alaska is the Isthmus of Rivas in Nicaragua, away. Topographic isolation (or radius of dominance) is how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.The topographic isolation of a summit is the great-circle distance to its nearest point of equal elevation.
Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners.Blake, Kevin S. 2002. Colorado Fourteeners and the Nature of Place Identity. Geographical Review 92(2): 155–179. Summits that qualify are those considered by mountaineers to be independent. Objective standards for independence include topographic prominence and isolation (distance from a higher summit), or a combination of the two. However, fourteener lists do not always use such objective rules consistently.
A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least of prominence to qualify. By this rule, Colorado has 53 fourteeners, California has 12, and Washington has 2.
According to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, the standard in Alaska uses a prominence rule rather than a rule. By this rule, Alaska has at least 19 peaks over and is home to all 9 US peaks exceeding .
Fourteeners
The following table lists the 96 mountain peaks of the United States with at least of topographic elevation and at least of topographic prominence. Of these, 53 rise in Colorado, 29 in Alaska, 12 in California and 2 in Washington. The 22 highest fourteeners are all found in Alaska.
+Fourteeners of the United StatesRankMountain PeakStateMountain RangeElevationProminenceIsolationLocation1Alaska Range2Alaska Range3Saint Elias Mountains5Alaska Range6Saint Elias Mountains8Wrangell Mountains9Wrangell Mountains10Wrangell Mountains11Alaska Range13Saint Elias Mountains14Saint Elias Mountains15Saint Elias Mountains16Saint Elias Mountains17Saint Elias Mountains18Saint Elias Mountains20Alaska Range21Alaska Range22Alaska Range23Sierra Nevada24Saint Elias Mountains25Saint Elias Mountains26Saint Elias Mountains27Sawatch Range28Sawatch Range29Sawatch Range30Cascade Range31Sierra Nevada32Sangre de Cristo Mountains33Sawatch Range34San Juan Mountains35Sangre de Cristo Range36Mosquito Range37Elk Mountains38Front Range39Sawatch Range40Front Range41Mosquito Range42Front Range43Wrangell Mountains44Front Range45San Miguel Mountains46White Mountains47Sierra Nevada48Sawatch Range49Sawatch Range50Sawatch Range51Sangre de Cristo Range52Sawatch Range53Cascade Range54Mosquito Range55Sangre de Cristo Range56Elk Mountains57Wrangell Mountains58Sawatch Range59Collegiate Peaks60Sierra Nevada61Sneffels Range62Mosquito Range63Elk Mountains64Cascade Range65Front Range66Elk Mountains67Sierra Nevada68Needle Mountains69Needle Mountains70Sangre de Cristo Range71Sawatch Range72Sawatch Range73Saint Elias Mountains74Sangre de Cristo Range75Front Range76Needle Mountains77Sierra Nevada78San Juan Mountains79Culebra Range80Sangre de Cristo Range81Sangre de Cristo Range82Sangre de Cristo Range83Mosquito Range84San Juan Mountains85Sierra Nevada86Sierra Nevada87Elk Mountains88San Juan Mountains89La Garita Mountains90San Juan Mountains91Sierra Nevada92Sierra Nevada93Wrangell Mountains94Sawatch Range95Sawatch Range96San Juan Mountains
Topographic prominence The table above uses a minimum topographic prominence criterion of and includes 96 peaks. The number of peaks included depends upon the minimum topographic prominence criterion. A criterion of includes 90 peaks, includes 77 peaks, includes 63 peaks, and includes 46 peaks.
The following U.S. summits have 14,000 ft of elevation, but have less than 300 ft of topographic prominence: Denali, Browne Tower, 14,530, Alaska: Prominence = . Why this became included on some fourteener lists is unclear. Mount Cameron, 14,238, Colorado: Prominence = 118 feet. El Diente Peak, 14,159, Colorado: Prominence = 239 feet. On many fourteener lists. Point Success, 14,158, Washington: Prominence = 118 feet. Polemonium Peak, 14,080+, California: Prominence = 160–240 feet. Starlight Peak, 14,080, California: Prominence = 80–160 feet. North Conundrum Peak, 14,040+, Colorado: Prominence = 200–280 feet. North Eolus, 14,039, Colorado: Prominence = 159–199 feet. North Maroon Peak, 14,014, Colorado: Official Prominence = 234 feet. On many fourteener lists, partially due to analysis with higher-resolution topographic data suggesting its true prominence is greater than 300 feet. Thunderbolt Peak, 14,003, California: Prominence = 223 feet.
Gallery
See also
List of mountain peaks of North America List of mountain peaks of Greenland List of mountain peaks of Canada List of mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains List of mountain peaks of the United States List of the highest major summits of the United States List of the most prominent summits of the United States List of the most isolated major summits of the United States List of extreme summits of the United States List of mountain peaks of Alaska List of mountain peaks of California List of mountain peaks of Colorado List of mountain peaks of Hawaii List of mountain peaks of Montana List of mountain peaks of Nevada List of mountain peaks of Utah List of mountain peaks of Washington (state) List of mountain peaks of Wyoming List of mountain peaks of México List of mountain peaks of Central America List of mountain peaks of the Caribbean United States of America Geography of the United States Geology of the United States :Category:Mountains of the United States commons:Category:Mountains of the United States Physical geography Eight-thousander, peak with at least 8,000 m. elevation
Notes
References
External links
United States Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System @ USGS United States National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Geodetic Glossary @ NGS NGVD 29 to NAVD 88 online elevation converter @ NGS Survey Marks and Datasheets @ NGS Colorado 14ers on 14ers.com Bivouac.com Peakbagger.com Peaklist.org Peakware.com Summitpost.org