Tallest Mountains in the Lower 48

Tallest Mountains in the Lower 48 States

The highest peaks in the contiguous United States—the “Lower 48″—are concentrated in two primary regions: the Sierra Nevada of California and the Sawatch and Sangre de Cristo ranges of the Colorado Rockies. Unlike the state-specific lists where one or two ranges might compete, this list is dominated by Colorado, which is home to the vast majority of the “Fourteeners” (peaks over 14,000 feet) in the country. Mount Whitney in California remains the undisputed king of the lower 48, serving as the highest point in the contiguous U.S., while Washington’s Mount Rainier stands as the most prominent volcanic giant in the Pacific Northwest.

The following table lists the top 25 highest mountain peaks in the lower 48 states, measured in feet.

#MountainElevation (ft)StateRange
1Mount Whitney14,505CaliforniaSierra Nevada
2Mount Elbert14,440ColoradoRocky Mountains
3Mount Massive14,428ColoradoRocky Mountains
4Mount Harvard14,421ColoradoRocky Mountains
5Mount Rainier14,411WashingtonCascade Range
6Mount Williamson14,379CaliforniaSierra Nevada
7Blanca Peak14,351ColoradoSangre de Cristo Range
8La Plata Peak14,343ColoradoRocky Mountains
9Uncompahgre Peak14,321ColoradoSan Juan Mountains
10Crestone Peak14,300ColoradoSangre de Cristo Range
11Mount Lincoln14,293ColoradoFront Range
12Castle Peak14,279ColoradoElk Mountains
13Grays Peak14,278ColoradoFront Range
14Mount Antero14,276ColoradoRocky Mountains
15Torreys Peak14,275ColoradoFront Range
16Mount Evans (Blue Sky)14,271ColoradoFront Range
17Quandary Peak14,265ColoradoTenmile Range
18Longs Peak14,259ColoradoFront Range
19Mount Wilson14,252ColoradoSan Juan Mountains
20White Mountain Peak14,252CaliforniaWhite Mountains
21Mount Princeton14,204ColoradoSawatch Range
22Mount Yale14,196ColoradoSawatch Range
23Maroon Peak14,163ColoradoElk Mountains
24Mount Columbia14,073ColoradoSawatch Range
25Missouri Mountain14,067ColoradoSawatch Range