Elevations and Distances in the United States

Online Edition

|| Introduction || 50 Largest Cities || Highest and Lowest || Summits Over 14,000 Feet ||
|| Summits East of Rocky Mountains || Geographic Centers ||
|| Distances From Extreme Points to Geographic Centers || Extreme Distances ||
|| Lengths of US Boundaries ||

Elevations and Distances in the United States

The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey from students, teachers, writers, editors, publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs, and other reference books, and people in many other fields of work.

The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. In most cases, the elevations were determined from surveys and from 1:24,000- and 1:25,000-scale, 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In Alaska, information was taken from 1:63,360-scale, 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps. In a few cases, data were obtained from older, 1:62,500-scale, 15-minute maps; these maps have been replaced with larger scale 7.5-minute coverage.

Further information about U.S. Geological Survey products can be obtained from: U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Science Information Center, 507 National Center, Reston, VA 20192 or phone 1-888-ASK-USGS, E-mail: ask@usgs.gov, TTY: 703-648-4119.

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Elevations of the 50 Largest Cities (by population, 1980 Census)

¹Water level, International Great Lakes Datum.

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Highest and Lowest Elevations

¹National Geodetic Survey. ²Corps of Engineers. ³State Surveys.

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Elevations of Named Summits Over 14,000 Feet Above Sea Level

¹National Geodetic Survey
²USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map in the conterminous United States unless otherwise indicated and 15-minute maps in Alaska unless otherwise indicated.

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Elevations of Selected Summits East of the Rocky Mountains

¹Highest summit east of the Mississippi River.
²Highest summit east of the Rocky Mtns.
³USGS 7.5-minute or 7.5-minute by 15-minute quadrangle map unless otherwise indicated.

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Geographic Centers

Because there is no generally accepted definition of a geographic center and no completely satisfactory method of determining it, there may be as many geographic centers of a State or county as there are definitions of the term.

The geographic center of an area may be defined as the center of gravity of the surface, or that point on which the surface of an area would balance if it were a plane of uniform thickness.

Curvature of the Earth, large bodies of water, irregular surfaces, and other factors affect the determination of center of gravity.

In determining the centers of the States, islands adjacent to their coastlines and large bodies of water were excluded.

The geographic centers and positions listed below should be considered as approximations.

No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as the geographic center of either the 50 States, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent. However, a monument was erected in Lebanon, Kansas, by a group of citizens who hired engineers to determine the position of the "geographic center" of the United States.

Sometimes confused with geographic center of the United States is the triangulation station "Meades Ranch," located at latitude 39°13'26.686" North and longitude 98°32'30.506" West, about 12 miles north of Lucas, Kansas. This was the primary reference point for the North American Datum of 1927, the standard on which all the latitude and longitude lines for North America were based. This datum is being replaced by the North American Datum of 1983, which is not hinged to a single point of reference.

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Distances From Extreme Points to Geographic Centers

*West of Castle Rock, Butte County, South Dakota. 44°58' N. - 103°46' W.
**Near Castle Rock, Butte County, South Dakota. 44°59' N. - 103°38' W.
***Near Lebanon, Smith County, Kansas. 39°50' N. - 98°35' W.

¹General direction to Lake of the Woods Projection is north.
²General direction to West Quoddy Head is northeast.

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Extreme Distances (computed to mean sea level)

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Lengths of United States Boundaries

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This booklet was originally published and printed in 1995 and revised and reprinted in 2001. The online edition contains the full text from the printed publication. This document has undergone official review and approval for publications established by the Eastern Region Geography, U.S. Geological Survey.

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