thumb|[[Denali, at , is the highest mountain in the United States]]

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:

  1. Topographic elevation is the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.
  2. Topographic prominence is how high the summit rises above its surroundings.

Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners. 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.

<!-- Please discuss any proposed changes to this table at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mountains several days before changes may be made. -->

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+<big><big>Fourteeners of the United States</big></big><br /><br />

!Rank

!Mountain Peak

!State

!Mountain Range

!Elevation

!Prominence

!Isolation

!Location

|-

|align=center|1

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|2

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|3

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|5

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center |6

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|8

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|9

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|10

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|11

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|13

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|14

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|15

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|16

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|17

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|18

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|20

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|21

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|22

|

|Alaska Range

|

|-

|align=center|23

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|24

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|25

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|26

|

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|27

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|28

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|29

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|30

|

|Cascade Range

|

|-

|align=center|31

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|32

|

|Sangre de Cristo Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|33

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|34

|

|San Juan Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|35

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|36

|

|Mosquito Range

|

|-

|align=center|37

|

|Elk Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|38

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|39

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|40

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|41

|

|Mosquito Range

|

|-

|align=center|42

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|43

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|44

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|45

|

|San Miguel Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|46

|

|White Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|47

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|48

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|49

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|50

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|51

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|52

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|53

|

|Cascade Range

|

|-

|align=center|54

|

|Mosquito Range

|

|-

|align=center|55

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|56

|

|Elk Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|57

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|58

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|59

|

|Collegiate Peaks

|

|-

|align=center|60

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|61

|

|Sneffels Range

|

|-

|align=center|62

|

|Mosquito Range

|

|-

|align=center|63

|

|Elk Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|64

|

|Cascade Range

|

|-

|align=center|65

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|66

|

|Elk Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|67

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|68

|

|Needle Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|69

|

|Needle Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|70

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|71

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|72

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|73

|<br />

|Saint Elias Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|74

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|75

|

|Front Range

|

|-

|align=center|76

|

|Needle Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|77

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|78

|

|San Juan Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|79

|

|Culebra Range

|

|-

|align=center|80

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|81

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|82

|

|Sangre de Cristo Range

|

|-

|align=center|83

|

|Mosquito Range

|

|-

|align=center|84

|

|San Juan Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|85

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|86

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|87

|

|Elk Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|88

|

|San Juan Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|89

|

|La Garita Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|90

|

|San Juan Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|91

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|92

|

|Sierra Nevada

|

|-

|align=center|93

|

|Wrangell Mountains

|

|-

|align=center|94

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|95

|

|Sawatch Range

|

|-

|align=center|96

|

|San 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&nbsp;ft of elevation, but have less than 300&nbsp;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.
  • Sunlight Spire, 14,001, Colorado: Prominence = 195&ndash;235 feet.

<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>

Mt Saint Elias, South Central Alaska.jpg|Mount Saint Elias, Alaska

Mount foraker.jpg|Mount Foraker, Alaska

MtBlackburn-KennicottGlacier.jpg|Mount Blackburn, Alaska

MountSanford.jpg|Mount Sanford and Mount Wrangell, Alaska

Elbert.JPG|Mount Elbert, Colorado

Mount Williamson.jpg|Mount Williamson, California

White Mountain CA.JPG|White Mountain Peak, California

Longs.JPG|Longs Peak, Colorado

Mount Shasta 1.jpg|Mount Shasta, California

Maroon Bells (11553)a.jpg|Maroon Bells (Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak), Colorado

Pikes Peak by David Shankbone.jpg|Pikes Peak, Colorado

BLANCA.JPG|Blanca Peak, Colorado

San Miguel Mountains.jpg|Wilson Peak, Colorado

</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

  • 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