How high, how deep, how tall: US numbers with their sources
Elevation Facts answers short questions about the height and depth of places in the United States: how high a town sits, how deep a lake or the ocean goes, how tall a mountain is. Every figure names where it came from. When two federal pages disagree, you get both numbers side by side.
Town elevations24 western and mountain towns, measured from USGS data Deepest US lakesCrater Lake, Tahoe, the Great Lakes, Yellowstone Lake Mariana TrenchChallenger Deep and the average ocean depth, from NOAA Denali and RainierSummit heights from NPS and USGS Town snowfallNOAA 1991–2020 monthly averages at a station for each town State flowersAll 50 states, D.C. and five territories
Highest towns in our table
| Town | State | Elevation (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Breckenridge | CO | 9,732 |
| Vail | CO | 8,182 |
| Aspen | CO | 7,891 |
| Mammoth Lakes | CA | 7,871 |
| Estes Park | CO | 7,527 |
| Park City | UT | 7,016 |
| Santa Fe | NM | 6,996 |
| Flagstaff | AZ | 6,900 |
These are single readings of the USGS 3DEP elevation grid at the point USGS lists for each town. See all 24 towns and how we measured them.
Three quick numbers
- Challenger Deep: approximately 10,935 m (35,876 ft), according to NOAA (details).
- Crater Lake: 1,943 ft (592 m), which the Park Service calls the deepest lake in the United States (ranking).
- Denali: 20,310 ft above sea level, the highest mountain in North America (details).
For the Great Lakes, EPA's atlas gives Lake Superior a maximum depth of 1,332 ft (all five lakes).