Posted on

The Tallest of States

When viewing maps of the states, it is easy to think of the states as being flat patches of ground surrounded by oceans, however, these plots of land have valleys and peaks, inclines and plateaus.

Well, this could lead to some interesting data; let’s look at the states ranked by some of their extremes!

States by Highest Elevation (Based on Sea Level)

The states by highest elevation.
  1. Alaska: Mount McKinley (20,310’)
  2. California: Mount Whitney (14,505’)
  3. Colorado: Mount Elbert (14,440’)
  4. Washington: Mount Rainier (14,400’)
  5. Wyoming: Gannett Peak (13,809’)
  6. Hawaii: Mauna Kea (13,803’)
  7. Utah: Kings Peak (13,534’)
  8. New Mexico: Wheeler Peak (13,167’)
  9. Nevada: Boundary Peak (13,147’)
  10. Montana: Granite Peak (12,807’)
  11. Idaho: Borah Peak (12,668’)
  12. Arizona: Humphreys Peak (12,637’)
  13. Oregon: Mount Hood (11,249’)
  14. Texas: Guadalupe Peak (8,751’)
  15. South Dakota: Black Elk Peak (7,244’)
  16. North Carolina: Mount Mitchell (6,684’)
  17. Tennessee: Clingmans Dome (6,643’)
  18. New Hampshire: Mount Washington (6,286’)
  19. Virginia: Mount Rogers (5,711’)
  20. Nebraska: Panorama Point (5,432’)
  21. New York: Mount Marcy (5,343’)
  22. Maine: Mount Katahdin (5,270’)
  23. Oklahoma: Black Mesa (4,975’)
  24. West Virginia: Spruce Knob (4,862’)
  25. Georgia: Brasstown Bald (4,784’)
  26. Vermont: Mount Mansfield (4,395’)
  27. Kentucky: Black Mountain (4,139’)
  28. Kansas: Mount Sunflower (4,041’)
  29. South Carolina: Sassafras Mountain (3,554’)
  30. North Dakota: White Butte (3,506’)
  31. Massachusetts: Mount Greylock (3,489’)
  32. Maryland: Hoye-Crest (3,370’)
  33. Pennsylvania: Mount Davis (3,213’)
  34. Arkansas: Mount Magazine (2,753’)
  35. Alabama: Cheaha Mountain (2,405’)
  36. Connecticut: Mount Frissell (2,386’)
  37. Minnesota: Eagle Mountain (2,302’)
  38. Michigan: Mount Arvon (1,979’)
  39. Wisconsin: Timms Hill (1,951’)
  40. New Jersey: High Point (1,802’)
  41. Missouri: Taum Sauk Mountain (1,772’)
  42. Iowa: Hawkeye Point (1,671’)
  43. Ohio: Campbell Hill (1,548’)
  44. Indiana: Hoosier Hill (1,257’)
  45. Illinois: Charles Mound (1,235’)
  46. Rhode Island: Jerimoth Hill (811’)
  47. Mississippi: Woodall Mountain (807’)
  48. Louisiana: Driskill Mountain (535’)
  49. Delaware: near Ebright Azimuth (449’)
  50. Florida: Point Reno (414’)

States by Lowest Elevation (Based on Sea Level)

The states by lowest elevation.
  1. California: Badwater Basin (-282’)
  2. Louisiana: New Orleans (-8’)
  3. Alabama: Gulf of America (0’)
  4. Alaska: Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean (0’)
  5. Connecticut: Long Island Sound (0’)
  6. Delaware: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  7. Florida: Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of America (0’)
  8. Georgia: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  9. Hawaii: Pacific Ocean (0’)
  10. Maine: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  11. Maryland: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  12. Massachusetts: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  13. Mississippi: Gulf of America (0’)
  14. New Hampshire: Gulf of Maine (0’)
  15. New Jersey: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  16. New York: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  17. North Carolina: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  18. Oregon: Pacific Ocean (0’)
  19. Pennsylvania: Delaware River (0’)
  20. Rhode Island: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  21. South Carolina: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  22. Texas: Gulf of America (0’)
  23. Virginia: Atlantic Ocean (0’)
  24. Washington: Pacific Ocean (0’)
  25. Arkansas: Ouachita River (55’)
  26. Arizona: Colorado River (70’)
  27. Vermont: Lake Champlain (95’)
  28. Tennessee: Mississippi River (178’)
  29. Missouri: Saint Francis River (230’)
  30. West Virginia: Potomac River (240’)
  31. Kentucky: Mississippi River (257’)
  32. Illinois: confluence of Mississippi and Ohio Rivers (279’)
  33. Oklahoma: Little River (289’)
  34. Indiana: confluence of Wabash and Ohio Rivers (320’)
  35. Ohio: Ohio River (455’)
  36. Nevada: Colorado River (479’)
  37. Iowa: confluence of Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers (480’)
  38. Michigan: Lake Erie (571’)
  39. Wisconsin: Lake Michigan (579’)
  40. Minnesota: Lake Superior (601’)
  41. Kansas: Verdigris River (679’)
  42. Idaho: confluence of Snake and Clearwater Rivers (710’)
  43. North Dakota: Red River of the North (750’)
  44. Nebraska: Missouri River (840’)
  45. South Dakota: Big Stone Lake (966’)
  46. Montana: Kootenai River (1,800’)
  47. Utah: Beaver Dam Wash (2,000’)
  48. New Mexico: Red Bluff Reservoir (2,842’)
  49. Wyoming: Belle Fourche River (3,101’)
  50. Colorado: Arikaree River (3,317’)

States by Mean Elevation (Based on Sea Level)

The states by average elevation.

Now that we have considered both extremes of elevation for each state, let’s see how the states compare when it comes to average elevation.

  1. Colorado: 6,800’
  2. Wyoming: 6,700’
  3. Utah: 6,100’
  4. New Mexico: 5,700’
  5. Nevada: 5,500’
  6. Idaho: 5,000’
  7. Arizona: 4,100’
  8. Montana: 3,400’
  9. Oregon: 3,300’
  10. Hawaii: 3,030’
  11. California: 2,900’
  12. Nebraska: 2,600’
  13. South Dakota: 2,200’
  14. Kansas: 2,000’
  15. North Dakota: 1,900’
  16. Alaska: 1,900’
  17. Texas: 1,700’
  18. Washington: 1,700’
  19. West Virginia: 1,500’
  20. Oklahoma: 1,300’
  21. Minnesota: 1,200’
  22. Iowa: 1,100’
  23. Pennsylvania: 1,100’
  24. Wisconsin: 1,050’
  25. Vermont: 1,000’
  26. New York: 1,000’
  27. New Hampshire: 1,000’
  28. Virginia: 950’
  29. Michigan: 900’
  30. Tennessee: 900’
  31. Ohio: 850’
  32. Missouri: 800’
  33. Indiana: 795’
  34. Kentucky: 750’
  35. North Carolina: 700’
  36. Arkansas: 650’
  37. Illinois: 600’
  38. Georgia: 600’
  39. Maine: 600’
  40. Connecticut: 500’
  41. Alabama: 500’
  42. Massachusetts: 500’
  43. Maryland: 350’
  44. South Carolina: 350’
  45. Mississippi: 300’
  46. New Jersey: 250’
  47. Rhode Island: 200’
  48. Florida: 100’
  49. Louisiana: 100’
  50. Delaware: 60’

States by Flatness (Percentage of Flat Land)

The states by flatness.

Now let’s compare the states by their approximate flatness. This is essentially a way of determining how little a state’s elevation varies across the state.

  1. Florida: 52%
  2. Illinois: 50%
  3. North Dakota: 49%
  4. Louisiana: 47%
  5. Minnesota: 47%
  6. Delaware: 44%
  7. Kansas: 44%
  8. Nevada: 43%
  9. Texas: 43%
  10. Indiana: 42%
  11. Michigan: 40%
  12. South Dakota: 40%
  13. Arizona: 38%
  14. New Mexico: 38%
  15. South Carolina: 38%
  16. New Jersey: 37%
  17. Oklahoma: 37%
  18. Iowa: 36%
  19. Nebraska: 36%
  20. Ohio: 36%
  21. Arkansas: 35%
  22. California: 35%
  23. Mississippi: 35%
  24. Utah: 35%
  25. Colorado: 34%
  26. Alaska: 33%*
  27. North Carolina: 33%
  28. Rhode Island: 32%
  29. Georgia: 31%
  30. Maryland: 31%
  31. Wisconsin: 31%
  32. Missouri: 30%
  33. Idaho: 29%
  34. Wyoming: 29%
  35. Montana: 28%
  36. Oregon: 28%
  37. Alabama: 26%
  38. Maine: 26%
  39. Massachusetts: 25%
  40. New York: 25%
  41. Washington: 25%
  42. Virginia: 24%
  43. Tennessee: 22%
  44. Connecticut: 21%
  45. Kentucky: 20%
  46. New Hampshire: 20%
  47. Pennsylvania: 20%
  48. Vermont: 20%
  49. West Virginia: 12%
  50. Hawaii: 0%**

*Alaska isn’t included in the source I used, however, about a third of Alaska’s rugged land is considered flat, according to some sources.

**Hawaii isn’t included in the source I used, though the state’s elevation varies so greatly that it is generally considered not flat at all.

Which method of comparing the states is your favorite and why?

Onward American 🇺🇸

Source: States and Territories by Elevation

Source: Flattest States

Leave a comment