Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney
Fisherman's Peak
East Face close-up seen from the Whitney Portal
Highest point
Elevation14,505 ft (4,421 m) NAVD 88
Prominence10,075 ft (3,071 m)
Parent peakPico de Orizaba
Isolation1,647 mi (2,651 km)
Listing
Coordinates36°34′43″N 118°17′31″W / 36.578580925°N 118.29199495°W / 36.578580925; -118.29199495
Naming
EtymologyJosiah Whitney
Geography
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney
Location
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Rock ageCretaceous
Mountain typeGranite
Climbing
First ascentAugust 18, 1873 by Charles Begole, Albert Johnson, and John Lucas
Easiest routeMount Whitney Trail (class 1)

Mount Whitney (Paiute: Too-man-i-goo-yah or Too-man-go-yah) is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, and the highest point in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It lies in EastCentral California on the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties, and 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of North America's lowest topographic point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The mountain's west slope is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail, which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The eastern slopes are in Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. Mount Whitney is ranked 18th by topographic isolation and 81st by prominence on Earth.