Special Report

The Highest Point in Every State

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1. Alabama
> Highest peak: Cheaha Mountain
> Elevation above sea level: 2,407 ft.
> Coordinates: 33.5° N, 85.8° W
> Value added in 2017 camping, hiking, boating, and hunting: $1.51 billion
> 2018 population: 4,887,871

The name “Cheaha” comes from the Muskogee word “chaha,” which translates to “high place.”

Source: Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) / Wikimedia Commons

2. Alaska
> Highest peak: Denali
> Elevation above sea level: 20,320 ft.
> Coordinates: 63.1° N, 151.0° W
> Value added in 2017 camping, hiking, boating, and hunting: $1.51 billion
> 2018 population: 737,438

For over a century, Denali was known as Mount McKinley, but the moniker was returned to the original Native Alaskan name in 2015.

Source: Adbar / Wikimedia Commons

3. Arizona
> Highest peak: Humphreys Peak
> Elevation above sea level: 12,633 ft.
> Coordinates: 35.3° N, 111.7° W
> Value added in 2017 camping, hiking, boating, and hunting: $2.20 billion
> 2018 population: 7,171,646

Though it was named Humphreys Peak around 1870, the mountain was also named San Francisco Peak due to a General Land Office error. It wasn’t fixed until 1933.

Source: Fredlyfish4 / Wikimedia Commons

4. Arkansas
> Highest peak: Magazine Mountain
> Elevation above sea level: 2,753 ft.
> Coordinates: 35.2° N, 93.6° W
> Value added in 2017 camping, hiking, boating, and hunting: $1.17 billion
> 2018 population: 3,013,825

Mount Magazine got its peculiar name when French explorers heard a landslide and mistook the loud sound for an exploding ammunition magazine.

Source: Geographer / Wikimedia Commons

5. California
> Highest peak: Mount Whitney
> Elevation above sea level: 14,494 ft.
> Coordinates: 36.6° N, 118.3° W
> Value added in 2017 camping, hiking, boating, and hunting: $14.90 billion
> 2018 population: 39,557,045

The tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mount Whitney is such a popular climbing destination that hikers need a permit to climb it to minimize the ecological impact.

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