This is a list of the extreme points of the United States, the points that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country. Also included are extreme points in elevation.
- There are a number of different interpretations for "easternmost" and "westernmost"; see below for full treatment.
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Northernmost
- Point Barrow, Alaska 71°23′20″N 156°28′45″W / 71.38889°N 156.47917°W — northernmost point in all U.S. territory
- Barrow, Alaska — northernmost city in all of U.S. territory and most northerly community on the North American mainland
- Fairbanks, Alaska — northernmost city of more than 20,000 residents, and northernmost city with public road access
- Anchorage, Alaska — northernmost city of more than 250,000 residents
- Seattle, Washington — northernmost major city in the United States (more than 500,000 residents)
- Bellingham, Washington — northernmost city of more than 50,000 residents in the contiguous United States
- Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota (49°23' 4.1"N) — northernmost point in the 48 contiguous states
- Angle Township, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota (49°23' 4.1"N) — northernmost township in the 48 contiguous states
- Blaine, Washington and Portal, North Dakota — two of several communities that share the claim of "northernmost in the contiguous United States", because they are located on the Canada border along the 49th parallel.
- Note that maps of the 48 states that are displayed in an equal-area projection (i.e. curved lines of latitude) can give the impression that the state of Maine extends further north than it actually does. The northernmost point in Maine is at approximately 47.46 degrees North latitude. This line of latitude passes through the southern suburbs of Seattle. From there, it is approximately 100 miles (160 km) north to the 49th parallel. So there is a wide swath of land within the 48 states (encompassing portions of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota) that is further north than anyplace in Maine. Included in this area are such places as Spokane, Washington, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Great Falls, Montana, Minot and Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. Even Isle Royale and parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (such as the Keweenaw Peninsula) are further north than anywhere in Maine.
Southernmost
- Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica (90°0′0″S 0°0′0″E / 90°S 0°E) — southernmost point under United States jurisdiction
- Rose Atoll, American Samoa (14°34′11″S 168°9′10″W / 14.56972°S 168.15278°W) — southernmost point in all U.S. controlled territory
- Ka Lae, Hawaiʻi (18°54′39″N 155°40′52″W / 18.91083°N 155.68111°W) — southernmost point in the 50 states
- Nā'ālehu, Hawai'i (19°3′57″N 155°35′15″W / 19.06583°N 155.5875°W) — southernmost town in the 50 states
- Western Dry Rocks, Florida (24°26.8′N 81°55.6′W / 24.4467°N 81.9267°W) — In the Florida Keys - southernmost point in the 48 contiguous states occasionally above water at low tide
- Ballast Key, Florida (24°31′15″N 81°57′49″W / 24.52083°N 81.96361°W) — southernmost point in the 48 contiguous states continuously above water
- Cape Sable, Florida (25°7′6″N 81°5′11″W / 25.11833°N 81.08639°W) — southernmost point on the U.S. mainland
- Key West, Florida — the southernmost city in the 48 contiguous states
- Miami, Florida — the southernmost major metropolitan city in the 48 contiguous states
- Note that maps of the 48 states that are displayed in an equal-area projection can give the impression that the state of Texas extends farther south than it actually does. The southernmost point in Texas (just southeast of Brownsville) is at approximately 25.84 degrees North latitude. This line of latitude passes through Hialeah, Florida, which is slightly north of Miami.
Easternmost
- Peacock Point, Wake Island (166°39'E) — first sunrise (at equinox) in all of U.S. territory
- Pochnoi Point, Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska (179°46'E) — easternmost point in all of U.S. territory, by longitude
- Point Udall, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (64°34'W) — easternmost point in all of U.S. territory, by direction of travel
- Sail Rock (66° 56' 52.08"W), just offshore of West Quoddy Head, Maine — easternmost point in the 50 states, by direction of travel
- West Quoddy Head, Maine (66°57'W) — easternmost point on the U.S. mainland
- Lubec, Maine — easternmost town in the 50 states
- Eastport, Maine — easternmost city of more than 1000 residents
- Calais, Maine — easternmost city of more than 2500 residents
- Houlton, Maine — easternmost town of more than 5000 residents
- Bangor, Maine — easternmost city of more than 20,000 residents
- Portland, Maine — easternmost city of more than 50,000 residents
- Boston, Massachusetts — easternmost major U.S. city (more than 500,000 residents)
- Note that maps of the 48 states that are displayed in an equal-area projection can give the impression that the state of Florida extends further east than it actually does. The easternmost point in Florida (Palm Beach Shores) is at approximately 80.03 degrees West longitude. This line of longitude passes through (or near) such places as Charleston, South Carolina, High Point, North Carolina, Salem, Virginia, Morgantown, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania – further west than all of New York, New Jersey, and all of the New England states.
Westernmost
- Point Udall, Guam (13°26′51″N 144°37′5.5″E / 13.4475°N 144.618194°E) — westernmost point in all of U.S. territory, by direction of travel
- Peaked Island, offshore from Cape Wrangell, Attu Island, Alaska (172°26'E) — westernmost point in the 50 states, by direction of travel, and last sunset (at equinox) in all of U.S. territory
- Adak, Alaska — westernmost town in the 50 states, by direction of travel and by longitude
- Unalaska, Alaska - westernmost city of more than 2500 residents in the 50 states, by direction of travel and by longitude
- Amatignak Island, Alaska (179°6'W) — westernmost point in all of US territory, by longitude
- Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska (168°7'W) — westernmost point on the North American continent
- Umatilla Reef, offshore from Cape Alava, Washington (48°11.1′N 124°47.1′W / 48.185°N 124.785°W) — westernmost point in the 48 contiguous states occasionally above water at low tide
- Anchor Point, Alaska (59°46′N 151°52′W / 59.76667°N 151.86667°W) — Westernmost point on the continuous road system of North America [1]
- Bodelteh Islands, offshore from Cape Alava, Washington (124°46'W) — westernmost point in the 48 contiguous states continuously above water
- Cape Alava, Washington (48°9′51″N 124°43′59″W / 48.16417°N 124.73306°W) — westernmost point on the U.S. mainland (contiguous)
- Ozette, Washington — westernmost town in the 48 contiguous states
- Port Orford, Oregon — westernmost city of more than 1000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Brookings, Oregon — westernmost city of more than 5000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Eureka, California — westernmost city of more than 25,000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Corvallis, Oregon — westernmost city of more than 50,000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Eugene, Oregon — westernmost city of more than 100,000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Portland, Oregon — westernmost city of more than 500,000 residents in the 48 contiguous states
- Note that maps of the 48 states that are displayed in an equal-area projection can give the impression that the state of California extends further west than it actually does. The westernmost point in California (Cape Mendocino) is approximately seven miles east of the westernmost point in Oregon (Cape Blanco), and approximately 14 miles (23 km) east of the westernmost point in Washington (Cape Alava).
Extremes in elevation
- Mount McKinley, Alaska (20,320 feet; 6,194 meters) — highest point in all of U.S. territory
- Mount Whitney, California (14,505 feet; 4,421 meters) — highest point in the 48 contiguous states
- Mount Evans, Colorado (14,120 feet, 4,304 meters) — highest road in the 48 contiguous states[2]
- Winter Park, Colorado (12,060 feet; 3,676 meters) — highest city limits in all of U.S. territory (However, note that there are no permanent residents in Winter Park above the level of 10,000 ft.)
- Alma, Colorado (10,355 feet; 3,156 meters) — highest town with permanent residents above 10,000 ft. in all of U.S. territory[3]
- Leadville, Colorado (10,152 feet; 3,094 meters) — highest city and airport runway in all of U.S. territory
- Calipatria, California (−184 feet; −56 meters) — lowest city in all of U.S. territory
- Badwater Basin (Death Valley), California (−282 feet; −86 meters) — lowest surface point in all of U.S. territory
- Lake Superior floor, Michigan - (−733 feet; −223 meters) — lowest point below water in all of U.S. territory
Other
- Most remote point in all of U.S. territory: Ipnavik River, National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, 68°45′N 156°41′W / 68.75°N 156.683°W; 120 miles (195 km) from nearest habitation
- Geographic center of the 50 states: approximately 20 miles (34 km) north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, at 44°58′N 103°46′W / 44.967°N 103.767°W
- Geographic center of the 48 contiguous states: approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lebanon, Kansas, at 39°50′N 98°35′W / 39.833°N 98.583°W
- Closest to the equator: Baker Island is located at 0°11′41″N 176°28′46″W / 0.19472°N 176.47944°W.[4][5][6]
Interpretation of easternmost and westernmost
There are three methods for reckoning the eastern and western extremes of the United States.
One method is to use the Prime Meridian as the dividing line between east and west. This meridian running through Greenwich, London, is defined as 0 degrees longitude and could be called the least eastern and least western place in the world. The 180th meridian, on the opposite side of the globe, is therefore the easternmost and westernmost place in the world.
Another method is to use the International Date Line as the easternmost–westernmost extreme. On the equinox, the easternmost place would be where the day first begins, and the westernmost is where the day last ends.
Still another method is to first determine the geographic center of the country and from there measure the shortest distance to every other point. All U.S. territory is spread across less than 180° of longitude, so from any spot in the U.S. it is more direct to reach Point Udall, U.S. Virgin Islands, by traveling east than by traveling west. Likewise, there is not a single point in U.S. territory from which heading east is a shorter route to Orote Point, Guam, than heading west would be, even accounting for circumpolar routes.
See also
- Geography of the United States
- Extreme points of the world
- Extreme points of North America
- Extreme points of the Americas
- Extreme points of New England
- Extreme points of U.S. states (each state's extreme points)
- List of U.S. states by elevation
- Geographic centers of the United States
References
- ^ The Milepost 61st edition pg. 626 ISBN 978-1892-15426-2
- ^ "Colorado". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwc211LH. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ Rippold, R Scott (2007). "High on Alma". The Gazette (Colorado Springs). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20070108/ai_n17129574/pg_1. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "Baker Island". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1392997. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ "State University Encyclopedia: Equator". State University Encyclopedia. http://encycAAlopedia.stateunAAiversity.com/pages/6935/Equator.html. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "CIA World Factbook: Jarvis Island". CIA World Factbook. http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/geos/dq.html#Geo. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
External links
- Text of congressional resolution designating Udall Point, Guam
- Maps of Orote Point, Guam:
- Map of Ballast Key, FL
- Detailed US coastline maps
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