Highest peak Denali 20,310 ft · lower 48 Mount Whitney 14,505 ft · east of the Mississippi Mount Mitchell 6,684 ft
US mountain ranges map
The main mountain ranges of the United States, with the highest peak in each, its elevation, and the states the range crosses. The West has the high ranges; the East has the old ones.
The ranges
Elevations are the highest summit within the range. Rounded figures are marked "about" because surveys disagree by a few feet.
| Range | States | Highest peak | Elevation (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Range | AK | Denali | 20,310 |
| Saint Elias Mountains | AK | Mount Saint Elias | 18,008 |
| Sierra Nevada | CA, NV | Mount Whitney | 14,505 |
| Rocky Mountains | MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, NM | Mount Elbert | 14,440 |
| Cascade Range | WA, OR, CA | Mount Rainier | 14,411 |
| Sangre de Cristo (Rockies) | CO, NM | Blanca Peak | 14,345 |
| San Juan Mountains (Rockies) | CO | Uncompahgre Peak | 14,309 |
| Wind River Range (Rockies) | WY | Gannett Peak | about 13,800 |
| Mauna Kea (volcano) | HI | Mauna Kea | 13,796 |
| Teton Range (Rockies) | WY | Grand Teton | 13,775 |
| Uinta Mountains (Rockies) | UT | Kings Peak | 13,528 |
| White Mountains (CA/NV) | CA, NV | White Mountain Peak | 14,252 |
| Snake Range (Great Basin) | NV | Wheeler Peak | 13,063 |
| Beartooth Mountains (Rockies) | MT, WY | Granite Peak | about 12,800 |
| Lost River Range (Rockies) | ID | Borah Peak | 12,662 |
| San Francisco Peaks | AZ | Humphreys Peak | 12,633 |
| Wasatch Range (Rockies) | UT | Mount Nebo | 11,928 |
| Brooks Range | AK | Mount Isto | about 8,980 |
| Olympic Mountains | WA | Mount Olympus | about 7,980 |
| Black Hills | SD, WY | Black Elk Peak | 7,242 |
| Appalachian Mountains | AL to ME (see page) | Mount Mitchell (Black Mountains, NC) | 6,684 |
| Great Smoky Mountains (Appalachians) | NC, TN | Clingmans Dome | 6,643 |
| White Mountains (Appalachians) | NH | Mount Washington | 6,288 |
| Adirondack Mountains | NY | Mount Marcy | 5,344 |
| Green Mountains (Appalachians) | VT | Mount Mansfield | 4,393 |
| Catskill Mountains | NY | Slide Mountain | 4,180 |
| Ouachita Mountains | AR, OK | Mount Magazine | 2,753 |
| Ozarks | MO, AR, OK | Boston Mountains high point | about 2,560 |
Three mountain systems
The Appalachians run about 1,500 miles from Alabama to Maine, never above 7,000 ft, and separate the Atlantic coast from the Ohio and Mississippi basins. The Rockies run from New Mexico into Canada and carry the Continental Divide; Colorado alone has more than 50 summits above 14,000 ft. The Pacific ranges are two parallel lines: the Coast Ranges along the sea (with the Olympics and the Klamaths), and, 100 miles inland, the volcanic Cascades continued southward by the granite Sierra Nevada. Between the Rockies and the Sierra, the Basin and Range country of Nevada and western Utah holds dozens of short north–south ranges. Alaska's ranges dwarf all of them: Denali is nearly 6,000 ft higher than anything in the lower 48.
Where the high ground is
Every peak above 14,000 ft in the contiguous states is in Colorado, California or Washington (Rainier alone). The highest point east of the Mississippi is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina; the highest point in the Midwest is in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Florida's high point, Britton Hill, is only 345 ft, lower than the tallest buildings in Miami. The state high points page lists all 50.
Related maps
- Highest point in each state — all 50 with elevations.
- Continental Divide · Great Plains · Colorado Plateau.
- National parks map — most are in these ranges.
- All geography maps.