Mt. Whitney

Mount Whitney
Fisherman's Peak, Tumanguya
East Face close-up seen from the Whitney Portal.
Highest point
Elevation	14,505 ft (4,421 m) NAVD88
Prominence	10,075 ft (3,071 m)
Isolation	1,647 mi (2,651 km)
Parent peak	Pico de Orizaba
Listing	World most prominent peaks 81st World most isolated peaks 18th North America highest peaks 24th North America prominent peak 16th North America isolated peaks 4th U.S. state high point 2nd US highest major peaks 11th California highest major peaks 1st California fourteeners 1st California county high points 1st SPS Emblem peak WSC Star peak
Coordinates	36°34′43″N 118°17′31″W / 36.578580925°N 118.29199495°W / 36.578580925; -118.29199495Coordinates: 36°34′43″N 118°17′31″W / 36.578580925°N 118.29199495°W / 36.578580925; -118.29199495
Geography
Mount Whitney Show map of California Mount Whitney Show map of the US Location in California, U.S.
Location	Sequoia National Park / Inyo National Forest, California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada
Topo map	USGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Age of rock	Cretaceous
Mountain type	Granite
Climbing
First ascent	August 18, 1873 by Charles Begole, Albert Johnson, and John Lucas
Easiest route	Mount Whitney Trail (class 1)

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The west slope of the mountain 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 east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.

The summit of Whitney is on the Sierra Crest and the Great Basin Divide. It lies near many of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The peak rises dramatically above the Owens Valley, sitting 10,778 feet (3,285 m) or just over two miles above the town of Lone Pine 15 miles to the east, in the Owens Valley. It rises more gradually on the west side, lying only about 3,000 feet (910 m) above the John Muir Trail at Guitar Lake.

The mountain is partially dome-shaped, with its famously jagged ridges extending to the sides. 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 Skypilot, 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.