Extreme points of the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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.

The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located approximately four miles (6 km) west of Lebanon, Kansas, at 98°35'W 39°50'N.

50 states — Map of the U.S., with dots showing where the extreme points/towns are

Map of the contiguous 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) — dots show where the extreme points/towns are

Map of the U.S., with dots show where the extreme points/towns on the mainland of North America are

Including territories and insular areas — Map of the world, with red dots showing the extreme points, green squares showing the points that do not respect the IDL, and yellow line showing where the IDL is.

50 states

• Northernmost point — Point Barrow, Alaska (71°23'N)
• Northernmost town — Barrow, Alaska
• Southernmost point — Ka Lae, Hawaii (18°55'N)
• Southernmost town — Naalehu, Hawaii
• Easternmost point — Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska
• Easternmost town — Amchitka U.S. Navy Base, Alaska
• Westernmost point — Attu Island, Alaska
• Westernmost town — Adak Station, Alaska¹
• Highest elevation point — Mount McKinley , Alaska (20,320 feet)
• Highest elevation town — Alma, Colorado (10,578 feet)
• Lowest elevation town — Furnace Creek, California (-179 feet)
• Lowest elevation point — Badwater Basin (Death Valley), California (-282 feet)

¹ Adak Station is the westernmost major town with a population of 316 (as of 2000). However, Attu Station is farther west, but it only has a population of 20 (as of 2000).

48 contiguous states

• Northernmost point — Angle Inlet, Minnesota
• Northernmost town — Angle Township, Minnesota
• Southernmost point — Ballast Key, Florida 24° 31′ 15″ N, 81° 57′ 49″ W
• Southernmost town — Key West, Florida
• Easternmost point — West Quoddy Head, Maine²
• Easternmost town — Lubec, Maine
• Westernmost point — Cape Alava, Washington
• Westernmost town — Ozette, Washington
• Highest elevation point — Mount Whitney , California (14,505 feet)
• Highest elevation town — Alma, Colorado (10,578 feet)
• Lowest elevation point — Badwater Basin (Death Valley), California (-282 feet)

²The ownership of Machias Seal Island is disputed between the U.S. and Canada. If one considers this to be U.S. Territory, then it is the easternmost point in the 48 contiguous states, coordinates: 44° 30′ 10″ N, 67° 06′ 10″ W

United States points on the North American continent

• Northernmost point — Point Barrow, Alaska
• Southernmost point — Cape Sable, Florida
• Easternmost point — West Quoddy Head, Maine
• Westernmost point — Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska

United States including territories and insular areas

• Northernmost point — Point Barrow, Alaska
• Southernmost point — Rose Atoll, American Samoa
• Easternmost point — Point Udall, US Virgin Islands³
• Westernmost point — Udall Point, Guam ³ 13° 26′ 41″ N, 144° 36′ 59″ E

United States including territories and insular areas by longitude

• Easternmost point — Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska³ (179°46'E)
• Westernmost point — Amatignak Island, Alaska³ (179°6'W)

United States including territories and insular areas by International Date Line

• Easternmost Point — Wake Island³
• Westernmost Point — Attu Island, Alaska³

Footnotes

³The easternmost/westernmost points of the U.S. throughout the world are disputed. What is most eastern or western depends on one's point of view about what east and west really mean.

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 Aluetian Islands, Alaska.

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 December 31.

On the other hand, if one defines what is most eastern and most western by which direction he or she must travel to reach a given point over the shortest distance, then Udall Point, Virgin Islands, and Point Udall, 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 Udall Point, VI, 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 Point Udall, 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.

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)

External links

[Text of congressional resolution designating Udall Point, Guam]

[Map of Orote Point, Guam, now Point Udall]

[Nice map of Ballast Key, FL]