California contains both the highest and lowest elevations of the continental United States. Well, the “Lower 48” more precisely. Astoundingly, they are less than 88 miles (142 kilometers) apart with an elevation change approaching 15,000 feet.
Mount Whitney is the California Highpoint at 14,494 feet (4,418 meters) above sea level. It crowns the mighty Sierra Nevada range and it’s still growing.
The lowest point in the United States is the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park just to the east. This is also the lowest point in all of North America. It is below sea level, in fact significantly so, at an elevation of -282 feet (-86 meters). The basin contains a small spring-fed pool where salts have accumulated over the ages and poisoned it. This is why it got the name “badwater”. While the pool is marked as the lowpoint, the actual spot falls a little further to the west.
In other words, the real lowpoint is actually closer to Mt. Whitney than what I’ve drawn on the maps. Nonetheless, the lowpoint sign sits at the badwater pool as a matter of convenience. It’s exceedingly dangerous to cross this basin. Additionally the lowpoint never remains in one spot for long and it shifts as weather conditions change. So they stuck the sign somewhere safer instead.
Another interesting phenomenon is that while the two points are only about 88 miles (142 kilometers) apart, one would need to travel 135 miles (217 kilometers) by road between them. Mountainous terrain tends to hinder straight lines.
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