List of national parks of the United States by elevation explained

This is a list of United States National Parks by elevation. Most of America's national parks are located in mountainous areas. Even among those located close to the ocean, not all are flat. Those few that are low-lying preserve important natural habitats that could never exist at high altitudes. Several national parks protect deep canyons with great vertical relief. There are also three national parks whose primary features are caves, the depths of which are still being explored.

Highest and lowest points in each US National Park

Criteria: Points on this list are the highest and lowest points within each national park and its associated national preserve, if it has one. It does not include adjacent or associated national recreation areas, parkways, memorials, or forests, but does include private property within park boundaries. Footnotes are given to mention other notable high or low points, when appropriate.

Rank	Park	Location	Peak name	Mountain range	data-sort-type="number"	Elevation	Location of lowest point	data-sort-type="number"	Minimum elevation	data-sort-type="number"	Vertical relief
1	Denali	AK0573	Denali	Alaska Range		Yentna River^[1]
2	Wrangell-St. Elias	AK0573	Mount Saint Elias	Saint Elias Mountains		Gulf of Alaska
3	Glacier Bay	AK0573	Mount Fairweather	Saint Elias Mountains		Gulf of Alaska
4	Sequoia	CA0621	Mount Whitney	Sierra Nevada		Kaweah River^[2]
5	Mount Rainier	WA0621	Mount Rainier	Cascade Range		Ohanapecosh River
6	Rocky Mountain	CO0621	Longs Peak	Front Range		Big Thompson River
7	Kings Canyon	CA0621	North Palisade	Sierra Nevada		Kaweah River (North Fork)
8	Grand Teton	WY0621	Grand Teton	Teton Range		Fish Creek^[3]
9	Hawaii Volcanoes	HI0621	Mauna Loa	Hawaiian Islands		Pacific Ocean
10	Great Sand Dunes	CO0621	Tijeras Peak^[4]	Sangre de Cristo Range		near San Luis Lakes
11	Yosemite	CA0573	Mount Lyell	Sierra Nevada		Merced River
12	Great Basin	NV0573	Wheeler Peak	Snake Range		Snake Creek
13	Yellowstone	WY0573MT0621ID0621	Eagle Peak	Absaroka Range		Reese Creek
14	Death Valley	CA0621NV0621	Telescope Peak	Panamint Range		Badwater	^[5]
15	Glacier	MT0621	Mount Cleveland	Lewis Range		Flathead River^[6]
16	Lassen Volcanic	CA0621	Lassen Peak	Cascade Range		Hot Springs Creek
17	Lake Clark	AK0621	Redoubt Volcano	Aleutian Range		Cook Inlet
18	Haleakala	HI0621	Haleakala	Hawaiian Islands		Pacific Ocean
19	North Cascades	WA0621	Goode Mountain	Cascade Range		Goodell Creek^[7]
20	Grand Canyon	AZ0621	Lookout tower near the North Rim's main entrance^[8]	Kaibab Plateau		Lake Mead^[9]
21	Bryce Canyon	UT0621	Rainbow Point http://www.lostphotograph.co.uk/rainbow_point.jpg^[10]	Paunsaugunt Plateau		Yellow Creek^[11]
22	Black Canyon of the Gunnison	CO0621	Poison Spring Hill^[12]	Grand Mesa		Gunnison River
23	Capitol Reef	UT0621	park boundary near Billings Pass	Colorado Plateau		Halls Creek
24	Crater Lake	OR0621	Mount Scott	Cascade Range		SW corner of park^[13]	^[14]
25	Guadalupe Mountains	TX0621	Guadalupe Peak	Guadalupe Mountains		SW corner near Williams Road
26	Zion	UT0621	Horse Ranch Mountain^[15]	Colorado Plateau		SW corner near Rt.9
27	Saguaro	AZ0621	Mica Mountain^[16]	Rincon Mountains		Rudasill & Sanders Roads, Tucson Mountain District
28	Mesa Verde	CO0621	Park Point Lookout http://gotexassoccer.com/trips/highpoints/np_mesa_verde/mesa_verde_np.htm^[17]	Colorado Plateau	^[18]	Soda Canyon^[19]
29	Gates of the Arctic	AK0621	Mount Igikpak	Brooks Range		Kobuk River^[20]
30	Olympic	WA0573	Mount Olympus	Olympic Mountains		Pacific Ocean
31	Big Bend	TX0621	Emory Peak	Chisos Mountains		Rio Grande
32	Katmai	AK0573	Mount Denison^[21]	Aleutian Range		Shelikof Strait
33	Canyonlands	UT0621	Cathedral Point^[22]	Colorado Plateau		Colorado River^[23]
34	Great Smoky Mountains	TN0621NC0621	Clingmans Dome	Great Smoky Mountains		Chilhowee Lake
35	Carlsbad Caverns	NM0621	Guadalupe Ridge	Guadalupe Mountains		Black River^[24]	^[25]
36	Kenai Fjords	AK0573	unnamed nunatak	Harding Icefield		Gulf of Alaska
37	Petrified Forest	AZ0621	Pilot Rock^[26]	Painted Desert		BNSF Railway	^[27]
38	Joshua Tree	CA0621	Quail Mountain	Little San Bernardino Mountains		Southeast boundary of the park	536 ft(163 m)^[28]
39	Arches	UT0621	Elephant Butte http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1512483-Elephant_Butte-Arches_National_Park.jpg	Colorado Plateau		Colorado River
40	Wind Cave	SD0573	Rankin Ridgehttp://gotexassoccer.com/trips/highpoints/np_wind_cave/wind_cave_np.htm	Black Hills		Windy City Lake^[29]
41	Kobuk Valley	AK0573	Mount Angayukaqsraq^[30]	Baird Mountains		Kobuk River
42	White Sands	NM0621	NE30^[31]	Tularosa Basin		Lake Lucero
43	Shenandoah	VA0573	Hawksbill Mountain	Blue Ridge Mountains		unnamed stream at north end
44	Badlands	SD0573	Red Shirt Table	The Badlands		runoff channel SE of Ben Reifel Visitor Center
45	Pinnacles	CA0621	North Chalone Peak	Gabilan Range	^[32]	SE Corner ^[33]	^[34]
46	New River Gorge	WV0573	Swell Mountain	Allegheny Mountains	^[35]	New River^[36]
47	American Samoa	AS0573	Lata Mountain	Ta'u Island, Samoan Islands	^[37]	Pacific Ocean
48	Redwood	CA0573	Coyote Peak	Bald Hills		Pacific Ocean
49	Theodore Roosevelt	ND0573	Peck Hill	The Badlands		Little Missouri River
50	Channel Islands	CA0573	Devils Peak, Santa Cruz Island	Channel Islands	^[38]	Pacific Ocean
51	Acadia	ME0573	Cadillac Mountain			Atlantic Ocean
52	Voyageurs	MN0573	Tower near Mead Wood Road entrance			Rainy Lake
53	Hot Springs	AR0573	Music Mountain	Ouachita Mountains		Bull Bayou
54	Isle Royale	MI0573	Mount Desor	Superior Upland		Lake Superior
55	Virgin Islands	VI0573	Bordeaux Mountain	Saint John Island, Virgin Islands	^[39]	Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea)
56	Cuyahoga Valley	OH0573	Black & Brush Roads	Glaciated Allegheny Plateau	^[40]	Cuyahoga River
57	Mammoth Cave	KY0573	Mammoth Cave Ridge near Park Ridge Road	Pennyroyal Plateau		Green River
58	Indiana Dunes	IN0573	Upland Trail, Pinhook Bog Unit^[41]			Lake Michigan	^[42]
59	Gateway Arch	MO0573	Old Courthouse^[43]			Mississippi River	^[44]
60	Congaree	SC0573	Old Bluff Road near main entrance			Congaree River
61	Everglades	FL0573	Calusa shell mound		^[45]	Atlantic Ocean
62	Dry Tortugas	FL0573	Loggerhead Key	Florida Keys		Gulf of Mexico
63	Biscayne	FL0573	Totten Key, Old Rhodes Key	Florida Keys		Atlantic Ocean

Selected Profiles

• The AT thru the Smokeys – The Appalachian Trail crosses through Great Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks. It reaches its highest point at Clingmans Dome.
• Skyline Drive map and profile – Skyline Drive runs the length of Shenandoah.
• PCT Elevation Profiles – The Pacific Crest Trail goes through seven national parks.
  • North Cascades – Washington section K
  • Mount Rainier – Washington section I
  • Crater Lake – Oregon section C
  • Lassen Volcanic – California section N
  • Yosemite – California sections H & I
  • Kings Canyon – California section H
  • Sequoia – California sections G & H
• Wonderland Trail – An elevation profile of the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier.

See also

• List of U.S. states and territories by elevation

References

1. [File:Denali National Park map - Bearpaw River.jpg|right|thumb|35px|1]
2. [File:Topographic map of Kaweah River.JPG|right|thumb|35px|2]
3. [File:Grand Teton National Park - Fish Creek map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|4]
4. http://www.nps.gov/grsa/faqs.htm Great Sand Dunes FAQ's
5. Web site: Highest and Lowest Elevations . . April 29, 2021.
6. http://www.nps.gov/glac/forteachers/general_info.htm Glacier
7. [File:North Cascades National Park - Goodell Creek map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|7]
8. [File:TopographicalGrandCanyonNearNorthRimMainEntrance.JPG|right|thumb|35x35px|8]
9. http://www.arachnoid.com/NaturalResources/index.html Lake Mead Water Level, 1935–present
10. http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/rainbowyovimpa.htm Bryce Canyon
11. [File:Bryce Canyon National Park - Yellow Creek map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|11]
12. http://www.nps.gov/blca/planyourvisit/upload/blca_map.pdf Black Canyon
13. [File:Crater Lake National Park SW corner map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|14]
14. This is even lower than the bottom of the crater, which, at deep and with a surface elevation of, would be at approximately .
15. http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm Zion
16. http://www.nps.gov/sagu/naturescience/index.htm Saguaro
17. http://www.nps.gov/meve/forteachers/ep_activity2_home.htm Mesa Verde For Teachers
18. http://www.nps.gov/meve/forteachers/ep_activity2_answers.htm Mesa Verde Answer Sheet
19. [File:Mesa Verde National Park - Soda Canyon map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|20]
20. Arctic – As the Kobuk River flows from park to preserve, its elevation is ; as it flows out of the preserve its elevation is .
21. http://www.nps.gov/katm/naturescience/naturalfeaturesandecosystems.htm Katmai
22. http://www.nps.gov/cany/parkmgmt/statistics.htm Canyonlands
23. [File:Canyonlands National Park-Glen Canyon map.jpg|right|thumb|35px|24]
24. http://www.carlsbad.caverns.national-park.com/sights.htm Carlsbad Caverns – Cave Tours
25. http://www.carlsbad.caverns.national-park.com/hike.htm Carlsbad Caverns
26. http://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/upload/PEFO_park_map_2006_large.pdf Petrified Forest
27. Petrified Forest topo; Official park map – As the Puerco River flows westward, it crosses out of federally owned land at feet; private land within park boundaries along the river to the west is at lower elevation.
28. Web site: Palms . Mailing Address: 74485 National Park Drive Twentynine . Us . CA 92277-3597 Phone: [phone] Contact . Park Statistics - Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service) . 2024-01-17 . www.nps.gov . en.
29. Web site: Wind Cave Exploration . . August 18, 2016.
30. http://www.nps.gov/kova/faqs.htm Kobuk Valley FAQ's
31. https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/news/parkstatistics.htm Park statistics - White Sands National Park. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
32. https://www.usgs.gov/science-support/osqi/yes/national-parks/ecology-pinnacles-national-park USGS Ecology of Pinnacles National Park. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
33. https://en-us.topographic-map.com/maps/aeey/Pinnacles-National-Park/ Pinnacles National Park topographic map, elevation, relief. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
34. https://www.usgs.gov/science-support/osqi/yes/national-parks/ecology-pinnacles-national-park USGS Ecology of Pinnacles National Park. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
35. https://peakvisor.com/park/new-river-gorge-national-river.html Peakvisor, New River Gorge National River. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
36. Suiter . Dale W. . Evans . Dan K. . 1999 . Vascular Flora and Rare Species of New River Gorge National River, West Virginia . Castanea . 64 . 1 . 23–49 . 4034121 . 0008-7475.
37. https://www.nps.gov/npsa/planyourvisit/upload/manua.pdf U.S. National Park Service. National Park of American Samoa - Plan Your Visit. [Map of the Manu'a Islands]. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
38. https://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/island-facts-santa-cruz-island.htm Island Facts: Santa Cruz Island
39. https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/maps.htm U.S. National Park Service. Virgin Islands National Park - Plan Your Visit; Maps. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
40. http://cohp.org/natl_parks/Cuyahoga_1.html Cuyahoga
41. https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=89044 Indiana Dunes National Park high point. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
42. http://www.glisaclimate.org/projects/484/page/2525 Facts about the lakes. Retriefed July 16, 20221.
43. https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=84196 Gateway Arch National Park high point. Retrieved July 16, 20221.
44. https://elevation.maplogs.com/poi/mississippi_river_st_louis_mo_usa.232140.html Elevation of Mississippi River, St. Louis, MO. Retrieved July 16, 20221.
45. http://www.nps.gov/search/query-meta?v%3Aproject=NPS&q=shell+mound&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nps.gov%2Fever NPS search

External links

• National Park Service
• Peakbagger
• www.climb.mountains.com These two external lists may not necessarily agree 100% with Wikipedia's list, but serve as useful comparisons. The primary difference is that these lists do not include associated national preserves.
• Postholer Maps; contains clear, zoomable topographic maps of the entire USA.