Mount Whitney Summited #Blackmill #Home #MountWhitney The highest summit in the contiguous United States. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just 76 miles (122 km) west of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park (282 feet (86 m) below sea level). The western slope of the mountain lies within Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 miles (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The eastern slope lies in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. The summit of Whitney lies along the Sierra Crest and near many of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Water that falls to the west of the crest flows into the Pacific Ocean, while that to the east flows into the Great Basin. The peak rises 10,778 feet (3,285 m) or just over two miles above the town of Lone Pine in the Owens Valley below. Due to its elevation, Mount Whitney is above the tree line and has an alpine climate and ecology. Very few plants grow near the summit: one example is the Sky Pilot, a cushion plant that grows low to the ground. The only animals are transient, such as the butterfly Parnassius phoebus and the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. The estimated elevation of the summit of Mount Whitney has changed over the years. The technology of elevation measurement has become more refined and, more importantly, the vertical coordinate system has changed. The peak was commonly said to be at 14,494 feet (4,418 m) and this is the elevation stamped on the USGS brass benchmark disk on the summit. An older plaque on the summit (sheet metal with black lettering on white enamel) reads "elevation 14,496.811 feet" but this was estimated using the older vertical datum (NVGD29) from 1929. Since then the shape of the Earth (the geoid) has been estimated more accurately. Using a new vertical datum established in 1988 (NAVD88) the benchmark is now estimated to be at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). 36° 34′ 42.89″ N, 118° 17′ 31.18″ W 36.578581, -118.291994 Highlights of Mt.Whitney trail hiking. Mount Whitney (Elevation 4421m / 14,505 ft), Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sequoia National Park, John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, California, USA. www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150227/mount-whit… First ascent in Aug18, 1873 by Charles Begole, Albert Johnson, John Lucas. hiking hike mountain mount whitney climbing snow summit trek trails rocks highest contiguous united states peak everest mt. whitney mt whitney inyo hiking nature outdoors whitney portal whitney portal store lone pine lonepine mountain mountaineering climbing summit