Fourteener
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In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least Template:Convert. 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, one particular state, or 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.<ref name=NAVD_88>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.</ref><ref name=range>If the elevation or prominence of a summit is calculated as a range of values, the arithmetic mean is shown.</ref>
- Topographic prominence is how high the summit rises above its surroundings.<ref name=prominence>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, Template:Convert away.</ref><ref name=range/>
- Topographic isolation (or radius of dominance) is how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.<ref name=isolation>The topographic isolation of a summit is the great-circle distance to its nearest point of equal elevation.</ref>
Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners.<ref>Blake, Kevin S. 2002. Colorado Fourteeners and the Nature of Place Identity. Geographical Review 92(2): 155–179.</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed
A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least Template:Convert of prominence to qualify.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By this rule, Colorado has 53 fourteeners, California has 12, and Washington has 2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, the standard in Alaska uses a Template:Convert prominence rule rather than a Template:Convert rule.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By this rule, Alaska has at least 19 peaks over Template:Convert and is home to all 9 US peaks exceeding Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fourteeners
Template:GeoGroup Template:See also The following table lists the 96 mountain peaks of the United States with at least Template:Convert of topographic elevation and at least Template:Convert of topographic prominence. Of these, 53 rise in Colorado, 29 in Alaska, 12 in California and one in Washington. The 22 highest fourteeners are all found in Alaska. Template:Clear
Topographic prominence
The table above uses a minimum topographic prominence criterion of Template:Convert and includes 96 peaks. The number of peaks included depends upon the minimum topographic prominence criterion. A criterion of Template:Convert includes 90 peaks, Template:Convert includes 77 peaks, Template:Convert includes 63 peaks, and Template:Convert 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 = Template:Convert. 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Thunderbolt Peak, 14,003, California: Prominence = 223 feet.
- Sunlight Spire, 14,001, Colorado: Prominence = 195–235 feet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gallery
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Mount Saint Elias, Alaska
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Mount Foraker, Alaska
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Mount Blackburn, Alaska
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Mount Sanford and Mount Wrangell, Alaska
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Mount Elbert, Colorado
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Mount Williamson, California
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White Mountain Peak, California
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Longs Peak, Colorado
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Mount Shasta, California
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Maroon Bells (Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak), Colorado
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Pikes Peak, Colorado
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Blanca Peak, Colorado
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Wilson Peak, Colorado
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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 HawaiTemplate:Okinai]]
- 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
- Physical geography
- Eight-thousander, peak with at least 8,000 m. elevation
Notes
References
External links
- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- United States National Geodetic Survey (NGS)
- Colorado 14ers on 14ers.com
- Bivouac.com
- Peakbagger.com
- Peaklist.org
- Peakware.com
- Summitpost.org
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