Extreme points of the United States

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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.

[edit] Northernmost

• Point Barrow, Alaska (71°23'N) — northernmost point in all of US territory
• Barrow, Alaska — northernmost town in all of US territory^[1]
• Northwest Angle, Minnesota (49°23' 4.1"N) — northernmost point in the 48 contiguous states

[edit] Southernmost

• Rose Atoll, American Samoa (14°34'S) — southernmost point in all of US territory
• Ka Lae, Hawaii (18°55'N) — southernmost point in the 50 states
• Naalehu, Hawaii — southernmost town in the 50 states^[2]
• Kaalaulu, Hawaii - southernmost town/city in the 50 states
• Ballast Key, Florida ( 24°31′15″N, 81°57′49″W) — southernmost point in the 48 contiguous states^[3]
• Key West, Florida — southernmost city in the 48 contiguous states
• Cape Sable, Florida (25°7'N) — southernmost point on the US mainland

[edit] Easternmost

• Pochnoi Point, Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska (179°46'E) — easternmost point in all of US territory, by longitude.
• Point Udall, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (64°34'W) — easternmost point in all of US territory, by one way of reckoning (see below).
• Sail Rock (66° 56' 52.08"W), just offshore of West Quoddy Head, Maine (66°57'W) — easternmost point in the 50 states
• West Quoddy Head, Maine (66°57'W) — easternmost point on the US mainland
• Lubec, Maine — easternmost town in the 50 states
• Wake Island (166°39'E) — first sunrise in all of US territory

[edit] Westernmost

• Amatignak Island, Alaska (179°6'W) — westernmost point in all of US territory, by longitude.
• Udall Point, Guam ( 13°26′51″N, 144°37′5.5″E) — westernmost point in all of US territory, by one way of reckoning (see below)
• Peaked Island, offshore from Cape Wrangell, Attu Island, Alaska (172°26'E) — westernmost point in the 50 states and last sunset in all of US territory
• Adak, Alaska — westernmost town in the 50 states^[4]
• Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska (168°7'W) — westernmost point on the North American continent
• Bodelteh Islands offshore from Cape Alava, Washington (124°46'W) — westernmost point in the 48 contiguous states
• Cape Alava (during low tide) and tie between Cape Alava and Cape Flattery (during high tide) - westernmost point on the U.S. mainland (contiguous)
• Ozette, Washington — westernmost town in the 48 contiguous states

[edit] Extremes in Elevation

• Mount McKinley, Alaska (20,320 feet / 6,194 meters) — highest point in all of US territory
• Mount Whitney, California (14,505 feet / 4,421 meters) — highest point in the 48 contiguous states
• Winter Park, Colorado (12,060 feet / 3,676 meters) — highest town in all of US territory^[5]
• Leadville, Colorado (10,152 feet / 3094 meters) — highest city in all of US territory
• Badwater Basin (Death Valley), California (-282 feet / -86 meters) — lowest point in all of US territory
• Calipatria, California (-184 feet / -56 meter) — lowest city in all of US territory

[edit] Other

• Most remote point in all of US territory — Ipnavik River, National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, 68°45′N, 156°41′W: 120 miles from nearest habitation
• Geographic center of the 50 states — approximately (20 mi) north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, at 44°58′N, 103°46′W
• Geographic center of the 48 contiguous states — approximately 6 km (4 mi) west of Lebanon, Kansas, at 39°50′N, 98°35′W

[edit] Interpretation of "easternmost" and "westernmost"

There are several methods for determining the location of the eastern and western extremes of the United States.

The common sense reckoning of the terms is by longitude, relative to the geographic center of the country.

But, by cartographical convention, the Prime Meridian running through Greenwich, England is the least eastern and least western place in the world. It is defined as 0 degrees longitude. The 180th meridian, on the opposite side of the globe, represents the absolute limit of how far east or west one can travel, from a cartographical perspective. Anything exactly on the 180th meridian is neither east nor west; but take a single step to either side and one is at 179+ degrees east or 179+ degrees west, the highest achievable numbers. By this mode of reckoning, the most eastern and western spots in the US are both in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

However, if one takes the view that the easternmost place is where the day first begins, and the westernmost is where the day last ends, then the International Date Line is the defining limit for what is most eastern or western. In a new year, the earliest US sunrise takes place on Wake Island. Less than an hour earlier, the sun also rose over Attu Island, Alaska but for the day before.

On the other hand, if one defines what is most eastern and most western by which direction one must travel to reach a given point over the shortest distance, then Point Udall in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Udall Point, Guam, are the easternmost and westernmost points, respectively. While the world is round, and any point can be reached by traveling either east or west, it is always more direct to head east to reach Point Udall , when traveling from any other spot in the U.S. Likewise, there is not a single point in the United States from which heading east is a shorter route to Udall Point, Guam, than heading west would be, even accounting for circumpolar routes. This holds true because all U.S. territory is spread across less than 180 degrees of longitude.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] 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)
• Geographic centers of the United States

[edit] External links

• Text of congressional resolution designating Udall Point, Guam
• Map of Orote Point, Guam, now Point Udall
• Map of Ballast Key, FL
• Detailed US coastline maps

fr:Liste de points extrêmes des États-Unis d'Amérique