Mount Whitney - wikipedia Mount Whitney This article is about the mountain. For the former town with this name, see Lone Pine Station, California. For the ship, see USS Mount Whitney ( LCC - 20 ). 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 Ultra Coordinates 36 ° 34 ′ 43 '' N 118 ° 17 ′ 31 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 36.578580925 ° N 118.29199495 ° W ﻿ / 36.578580925 ; - 118.29199495 Coordinates : 36 ° 34 ′ 43 '' N 118 ° 17 ′ 31 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 36.578580925 ° N 118.29199495 ° W ﻿ / 36.578580925 ; - 118.29199495 Geography Mount Whitney Location in California, U.S. Mount Whitney Mount Whitney ( the US ) Show map of California Show map of the US Show all 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 not only the highest point in California but also 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. Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Hydrology 1.2 Elevation measurements 2 Geology 3 Exploration history 4 Climbing routes 4.1 Trails 4.2 Scrambles 4.3 Technical climbs 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Geography Sky pilot blooming on ridge just below summit. The summit of Mount 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. Hydrology The mountain is the highest point on the Great Basin Divide. Waterways on the west side of the peak flow into Whitney Creek, which flows into the Kern River. The Kern River terminates in the Tulare Basin. During very wet years, water overflows from the Tulare Basin into the San Joaquin River which flows to the Pacific Ocean. From the east, water from Mount Whitney flows to Lone Pine Creek, which joins the Owens River, which in turn terminates at Owens Lake, an endorheic lake of the Great Basin. Elevation measurements 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 ft ( 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 ( NGVD29 ) 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 ft ( 4,421 m ). Geology Schematic of Sierra Nevada fault - block. The eastern slope of Whitney is far steeper than its western slope because the entire Sierra Nevada is the result of a fault - block that is analogous to a cellar door : the door is hinged on the west and is slowly rising on the east. The rise is caused by a normal fault system that runs along the eastern base of the Sierra, below Mount Whitney. Thus, the granite that forms Mount Whitney is the same as the granite that forms the Alabama Hills, thousands of feet lower down. The raising of Whitney ( and the downdrop of the Owens Valley ) is due to the same geological forces that cause the Basin and Range Province : the crust of much of the intermontane west is slowly being stretched. The granite that forms Mount Whitney is part of the Sierra Nevada batholith. In Cretaceous time, masses of molten rock that originated from subduction rose underneath what is now Whitney and solidified underground to form large expanses of granite. In the last 2 to 10 million years, the Sierra was pushed up which enabled glacial and river erosion to strip the upper layers of rock to reveal the resistant granite that makes up Mount Whitney today. Exploration History In July 1864, the members of the California Geological Survey named the peak after Josiah Whitney, the State Geologist of California and benefactor of the survey. During the same expedition, geologist Clarence King attempted to climb Whitney from its west side, but stopped just short. In 1871, King returned to climb what he believed to be Whitney, but having taken a different approach, he actually summited nearby Mount Langley. Upon learning of his mistake in 1873, King finally completed his own first ascent of Whitney, but did so a month too late to claim the first recorded ascent. Just a month earlier, on August 18, 1873, Charles Begole, A.H. Johnson, and John Lucas, all of nearby Lone Pine, had become the first to reach the highest summit in the contiguous United States. As they climbed the mountain during a fishing trip to nearby Kern Canyon, they called the mountain Fisherman 's Peak. Mount Whitney as seen from Mount Langley In 1881 Samuel Pierpont Langley, founder of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory remained for some time on the summit, making daily observations on the solar heat. Accompanying Langley in 1881 was another party consisting of Judge William B. Wallace of Visalia, W.A. Wright and Reverend Frederick Wales. Wallace later wrote in his memoirs that `` The Pi Ute ( Paiute ) Indians called Mt. Whitney `` Too - man - i - goo - yah, '' which means `` the very old man. '' They believe that the Great Spirit who presides over the destiny of their people once had his home in that mountain. '' The spelling Too - man - i - goo - yah is a transliteration from the indigenous Paiute Mono language. Other variations are Too - man - go - yah and Tumanguya. In 1891, the United States Geological Survey 's Board on Geographic Names decided to recognize the earlier name Mount Whitney. Despite losing out on their preferred name, residents of Lone Pine financed the first trail to the summit, engineered by Gustave Marsh, and completed on July 22, 1904. Just four days later, the new trail enabled the first recorded death on Whitney. Having hiked the trail, U.S. Bureau of Fisheries employee Byrd Surby was struck and killed by lightning while eating lunch on the exposed summit. In response to this event, Marsh began work on the stone hut that would become the Smithsonian Institution Shelter, and completed it in 1909. A movement after World War II began to rename the mountain for Winston Churchill. However, the name Mount Whitney has persisted. Climbing routes Trails The Smithsonian Institution Shelter on Whitney 's summit. The most popular route to the summit is by way of the Mount Whitney Trail which starts at Whitney Portal, at an elevation of 8,360 ft ( 2,550 m ), 13 mi ( 21 km ) west of the town of Lone Pine. The hike is about 22 mi ( 35 km ) round trip with an elevation gain of over 6,100 ft ( 1,900 m ). Permits are required year round, and to prevent overuse a limited number of permits are issued by the Forest Service between May 1 and November 1. The Forest Service holds an annual lottery for hiking and backpacking permits on the Mount Whitney Trail. Applications are accepted from February 1 through March 15. Any permits left over after the lottery is completed typically go on sale April 1. Most hikers do the trip in two days which is still considered a strenuous endeavor. Those in good physical condition sometimes attempt to reach the summit and return to Whitney Portal in one day, thus requiring only a somewhat easier - to - obtain `` day use '' permit rather than the overnight permit, and prohibiting the use of overnight camping gear ( sleeping bag and tent ). This is considered an `` extreme '' day hike, which normally involves leaving Whitney Portal before sunrise and 12 to 18 hours of strenuous hiking, while struggling with altitude sickness, cold air, and occasionally treacherous surface conditions ( because snow and / or ice are normally present on parts of the trail, except for a short period from early July to late September ). Long - exposure photograph of hikers ascending Whitney before sunrise via the John Muir Trail Longer approaches to Whitney arrive at its west side, connecting to the Mount Whitney Trail near the summit by way of the John Muir Trail. Scrambles The `` Mountaineer 's Route '', a gully on the north side of the east face first climbed by John Muir, is considered a scramble, class 3 ( PD+ ). The fastest recorded time up this route to the summit and back to the portal is 3 hours 10 minutes, by Jason Lakey of Bishop. Technical Climbs Railings on the Mount Whitney Trail switchbacks. The steep eastern side of the mountain offers a variety of climbing challenges. The East Face route, first climbed in 1931, is one of the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America routes and involves technical free climbing ( class 5.7 ) but is mostly class 4. Other routes range up to grade 5.10 d. South of the main summit there are a series of minor summits that are completely inconspicuous from the west but appear as a series of `` needles '' from the east. The routes on these include some of the finest big - wall climbing in the high Sierra. Two of the needles were named after participants in an 1880 scientific expedition to the mountain. Keeler Needle was named for James Keeler and Day Needle was named for William Cathcart Day. The latter has now been renamed Crooks Peak after Hulda Crooks who hiked up Mount Whitney every year until well into her nineties. See also Mountains portal California portal List of mountain peaks of California List of highest points in California by county List of U.S. states by elevation List of the highest major summits of the United States List of the most prominent summits of the United States List of the most isolated major summits of the United States Whitney Classic References Jump up ^ `` Playas Valley / Pride Draw Saddle ''. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 30. Jump up ^ `` California 14,000 - foot Peaks ''. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Sierra Peaks Section List '' ( PDF ). Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. Jump up ^ `` Western States Climbers List ''. Climber.org. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 24. ^ Jump up to : `` Whitney ''. NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` Mount Whitney, California ''. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 30. ^ Jump up to : Farquhar, Francis P. ( 1926 ). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco : Sierra Club. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Find Distance and Azimuths Between 2 Sets of Coordinates ''. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 21. Coordinates of Mount Whitney = 36.578581, - 118.291995 and Badwater Basin = 36.250278, - 116.825833 Jump up ^ `` Death Valley National Park, Frequently Asked Questions ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 21. Badwater Basin - 282 feet below sea level... the lowest in North America. Jump up ^ NPS ( ed. ). `` John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails ''. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 07. ^ Jump up to : about sports ( ed. ). `` Mount Whitney : Highest Mountain in California ''. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 08. Jump up ^ Everytrail.com ( ed. ). `` Trail Map of The High Sierra Trail : Segment 7 of 7 California ''. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 08. Jump up ^ Perlman, Eric ( May 1985 ). `` Nice Going, Whitney ''. Backpager : 49 -- 55. Retrieved 8 May 2016. Jump up ^ Joyce, Quinn ( ed ) ( 2015 ). Earth 's Landscape : An Encyclopedia of the World 's Geographic Features ( 2 volumes ). ABC - CLIO. pp. 511 -- 512. ISBN 1610694465. Retrieved 8 May 2016. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) ^ Jump up to : Schoenherr, Allan A. ( 1995 ). A Natural History of California. University of California Press. ISBN 0 - 520 - 06922 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Height Conversion Methodology ''. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Sierra Nevada ''. Ecological Subregions of California. US Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2008 - 06 - 01. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ `` The Great Basin ''. Great Basin National Park. US National Park Service. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 09. ^ Jump up to : McPhee, John ( 2000 ). Annals of a Former World. Macmillian. ISBN 0374708460. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 08. Jump up ^ Whitney, Stephen ( 1979 ). A Sierra Club naturalist 's guide to the Sierra Nevada. Sierra Club Books. p. 41. ISBN 0871562154. Retrieved 9 May 2016. Jump up ^ King, Clarence ( 1902 ) ( 1872 ). `` Chapter XIII Mount Whitney ''. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada ( 10th ed. ). ISBN 0 - 585 - 27432 - 0. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 01. Jump up ^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. ( 1920 ). `` Whitney, Mount ''. Encyclopedia Americana. Jump up ^ `` Historic People And Places : WILLIAM B. WALLACE ''. Sequoia Parks Foundation. Archived from the original on 2012 - 09 - 04. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ Wallace, William B. ( 1902 ). `` A Night On Mt. Whitney ''. Mt. Whitney Club Journal. 1. Visalia, CA : Mt. Whitney Club. pp. 8 -- 9. Jump up ^ Porcella, Stephen ; Burns, Cameron ( 1998 ). Climbing California 's Fourteeners : The Route Guide to the Fifteen Highest Peaks. Mountaineers Books. p. 55. ISBN 0 - 89886 - 555 - 7. Jump up ^ Barbato, Lauren ( 2015 - 08 - 31 ). `` 5 Whitewashed American Landmarks That, Like Mount McKinley, Sorely Need A Name Change ''. www.bustle.com. Jump up ^ `` Mt. Whitney 's Early Days ''. Mount Whitney History. Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 2012 - 05 - 14. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Mount Whitney ''. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Recreational Activities - Mt. Whitney ''. US Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2008 - 04 - 14. Retrieved 2008 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Mount Whitney Lottery - Permit Reservations ''. US Forest Service. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Mt. Whitney -- One Day Hike ''. dayhiker.com. Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Secor, R.J. The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, and Trails. Seattle : The Mountaineers. Jump up ^ `` Bishop Local Adds 5.13 b Crack, And Speed Solos Whitney Region ''. Rock and Ice. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010 - 12 - 12. Further reading Thompson, Doug ; Elisabeth Newbold ( 1997 ). Mount Whitney : Mountain Lore from the Whitney Store. Westwind Publishing Company. ISBN 978 - 0 - 9653596 - 0 - 3. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mount Whitney. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mount Whitney. `` Mt. Whitney Trail ''. Inyo National Forest. `` Mt Whitney Hikers Association ''. `` Whitney Portal Store ''. `` Mount Whitney ''. SummitPost.org. Gilman, D.C. ; Peck, H.T. ; Colby, F.M., eds. ( 1905 ). `` Whitney, Mount ''. New International Encyclopedia ( 1st ed. ). New York : Dodd, Mead. The 124 highest major summits of greater North America Denali Mount Logan Pico de Orizaba Mount Saint Elias Popocatépetl Mount Foraker Mount Lucania Iztaccíhuatl King Peak Mount Bona Mount Steele Mount Blackburn Mount Sanford Mount Wood Mount Vancouver Mount Slaggard Nevado de Toluca Mount Fairweather Mount Hubbard Mount Bear Mount Walsh Mount Hunter La Malinche Mount Whitney Mount Alverstone University Peak Mount Elbert Mount Massive Mount Harvard Mount Rainier Mount Williamson McArthur Peak Blanca Peak La Plata Peak Uncompahgre Peak Crestone Peak Mount Lincoln Castle Peak Grays Peak Mount Antero Mount Evans Longs Peak Mount Wilson White Mountain Peak North Palisade Mount Princeton Mount Yale Mount Shasta Maroon Peak Mount Wrangell Mount Sneffels Capitol Peak Pikes Peak Windom Peak / Mount Eolus Mount Augusta Handies Peak Culebra Peak San Luis Peak Mount of the Holy Cross Nevado de Colima Grizzly Peak Mount Humphreys Mount Keith Mount Strickland Mount Ouray Vermilion Peak Avalanche Peak Atna Peaks Volcán Tajumulco Regal Mountain Mount Darwin Mount Hayes Mount Silverheels Rio Grande Pyramid Cofre de Perote Gannett Peak Mount Kaweah Grand Teton Mount Cook Mount Morgan Mount Gabb Bald Mountain Mount Oso Mount Jackson Mount Tom Bard Peak West Spanish Peak Mount Powell Hagues Peak Mount Dubois Tower Mountain Treasure Mountain Kings Peak North Arapaho Peak Mount Pinchot Mount Natazhat Mount Jarvis Parry Peak Bill Williams Peak Sultan Mountain Mount Herard Volcán Tacaná West Buffalo Peak Mount Craig Tressider Peak Summit Peak Middle Peak / Dolores Peak Antora Peak Henry Mountain Hesperus Mountain Mount Silverthrone Jacque Peak Bennett Peak Wind River Peak Mount Waddington Conejos Peak Mount Marcus Baker Cloud Peak Wheeler Peak Francs Peak Twilight Peak South River Peak Mount Ritter Red Slate Mountain The 100 most prominent summits of greater North America Denali Mount Logan Pico de Orizaba Mount Rainier Volcán Tajumulco Mount Fairweather Chirripó Grande Gunnbjørn Fjeld Mount Blackburn Mount Hayes Mount Saint Elias Mount Waddington Mount Marcus Baker Pico Duarte Mount Lucania Mount Whitney Popocatépetl Mount Shasta Monarch Mountain Shishaldin Volcano Mount Robson Redoubt Volcano Mount Elbert Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier Nevado de Colima Mount Vancouver Mount Sir Sandford Mount Baker Mount Torbert Pic la Selle Barbeau Peak San Jacinto Peak San Gorgonio Mountain Charleston Peak Pavlof Volcano Mount Veniaminof Mount Adams Skihist Mountain Mount Hubbard Mount Ratz Mount Odin Mount Isto Mount Monashee Iliamna Volcano Mount Olympus Mount Columbia Mount Queen Bess Mount Cook Mount Hood Mount Sanford Mount Tom White Mount Cooper Wheeler Peak Ulysses Mountain Glacier Peak Mount Kimball Blue Mountain Peak Wedge Mountain Otter Mountain Mount Griggs Nevado de Toluca Kwatna Peak Outlook Peak Mount Foraker Golden Hinde White Mountain Peak Mount Crillon Stauning Alper Cerro Teotepec Scud Peak Keele Peak Cloud Peak Gannett Peak Razorback Mountain Mount Vsevidof Mount Odin Cerro el Nacimiento Mount Hesperus Picacho del Diablo Mount Farnham Palup Qaqa HP Mount Bona Oscar Peak Pic Macaya Montaña de Santa Bárbara Mount Assiniboine Mount Jancowski Cerro Las Minas Mount Drum Gladsheim Peak Milne Land HP Mount Dawson Payers Tinde Beitstad Peak Mount Chiginagak Mount Edith Cavell Alsek Peak Mount Valpy Perserajoq Mount Cairnes The 107 most isolated major summits of greater North America Denali Gunnbjørn Fjeld Pico de Orizaba Mount Whitney Mount Mitchell Mount Washington Mount Rainier Mount Elbert Pico Duarte Chirripó Grande Shishaldin Volcano Barbeau Peak Mount Caubvick Volcán Tajumulco Melville Island HP La Grande Soufrière Tanaga Volcano Avannaarsua HP Mount Isto Cerro San Rafael Mathiassen Mountain Mount Logan Angilaaq Mountain Signal Hill Mount Odin Cerro el Potosí Mount Waddington Melville Hills HP Keele Peak Mount Shasta Perserajoq Mealy Mountains HP Peary Land HP The Cabox Volcán Everman Greenland Ice Sheet HP Gannett Peak Mont Yapeitso Mount Robson Mount Osborn Mount Igikpak Ulysses Mountain Cerro de Punta Cerro Gordo Pico San Juan Mont Jacques - Cartier Nevado de Colima Sukkertoppen Humphreys Peak Haffner Bjerg Victoria Island HP Wheeler Peak Revaltoppe Kisimngiuqtuq Peak Mount Vsevidof Mont Forel Beitstad Peak Hahn Land HP Pico La Laguna Volcán Las Tres Vírgenes Isla Guadalupe HP Mount Veniaminof Picacho del Diablo Cerro el Nacimiento Mount Ratz Hall Island HP Dillingham HP Mount Paatusoq Petermann Bjerg Spruce Knob Blue Mountain Peak Kings Peak Outlook Peak Sierra Blanca Peak Devon Ice Cap HP Point 1740 San Gorgonio Mountain Manuel Peak Katahdin Peak 4030 Howson Peak Mount Baldy Borah Peak Sierra Fría Cloud Peak Cerro Mohinora Fox Mountain Cap Mountain Sierra la Madera Black Elk Peak Mount Frank Rae Mount Nirvana Slide Mountain Durham Heights Mount Griggs Charleston Peak Pico Turquino Pic Macaya Junipero Serra Peak Mount Baker Mount Marcy Mont Raoul - Blanchard Mount Marcus Baker Mount Hayes Sacajawea Peak Steens Mountain Mount Fairweather The 46 highest major summits of California Mount Whitney Mount Williamson White Mountain Peak North Palisade Mount Shasta Mount Humphreys Mount Keith Mount Darwin Mount Kaweah Mount Morgan Mount Gabb Mount Tom Mount Dubois Mount Pinchot Mount Ritter Red Slate Mountain Mount Lyell Mount Dana Mount Conness Needham Mountain Twin Peaks Olancha Peak Eagle Peak Tower Peak Mount Patterson San Joaquin Mountain Leavitt Peak Kern Peak San Gorgonio Mountain Sonora Peak Waucoba Mountain Glass Mountain Keynot Peak Telescope Peak Mammoth Mountain Highland Peak Freel Peak Mount Hoffmann San Jacinto Peak Lassen Peak Round Top Mount San Antonio Pyramid Peak Peak 9980 Sugarloaf Mountain Eagle Peak California Fourteeners Mount Whitney Mount Williamson White Mountain Peak North Palisade Mount Shasta Mount Sill Mount Russell Split Mountain Mount Langley Mount Tyndall Mount Muir Middle Palisade Highest Natural Points of U.S. States and Selected Additional Areas Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Additional Areas American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Sequoia National Park Landmarks and attractions Ash Mountain Entrance Sign Atwell Mill Grove Cabin Creek Ranger Residence and Dormitory Cattle Cabin Crystal Cave Eagle Lake Forester Pass Franklin Garfield Grove General Sherman Tree Generals ' Highway Generals ' Highway Stone Bridges Giant Forest Giant Forest Lodge Hist. Dist. Giant Forest Village -- Camp Kaweah Hist. Dist. Great Western Divide Hazelwood Tree High Sierra Trail Hockett Mdw. Ranger Sta. Hospital Rock John Muir Trail Kaweah Gap Kern Plateau Salamander King Arthur Lilliput Glacier Lincoln Tree Mineral King Mineral King Road Cultural Landscape Monroe Moro Rock Muir Grove Pear Lake Ski Hut President Quinn Ranger Sta. Redwood Mdw. Ranger Sta. Smithsonian Institution Shelter Squatter 's Cabin Tharp 's Log Ursa Minor Cave Washington Tree Wuksachi Village and Lodge Mountains Alta Peak Mount Barnard Black Kaweah Florence Peak Junction Peak Kaweah Peaks Ridge Kaweah Queen Mount Kaweah Mount Langley Mount Le Conte Mount Mallory Mount McAdie Milestone Mountain Mount Muir Red Kaweah Mount Russell Sawtooth Peak Mount Stewart Table Mountain Triple Divide Peak Mount Tyndall Thunder Mountain Mount Whitney People John Muir Stephen T. Mather Hale Tharp John Tyndall Josiah Whitney George W. Stewart Yokut people Nearby municipalities Three Rivers Lemon Cove Kaweah Visalia Tulare Lone Pine Additional information Indian Basin Grove National Register of Historic Places listings in Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Parks Sequoia National Park Category California Portal State of California Sacramento ( capital ) Topics Culture Food Music Myth Sports Demographics Earthquakes Economy Education Environment Geography Climate Ecology Flora Fauna Government Capitol Districts Governor Legislature Supreme Court Healthcare History Law National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks NRHP listings Politics Congressional delegations Elections People Protected areas State Parks State Historic Landmarks Symbols Transportation Water Index of articles Regions Antelope Valley Big Sur California Coast Ranges Cascade Range Central California Central Coast Central Valley Channel Islands Coachella Valley Coastal California Conejo Valley Cucamonga Valley Death Valley East Bay ( SF Bay Area ) East County ( SD ) Eastern California Emerald Triangle Gold Country Great Basin Greater San Bernardino Inland Empire Klamath Basin Lake Tahoe Greater Los Angeles Los Angeles Basin Lost Coast Mojave Desert Mountain Empire North Bay ( SF ) North Coast North Coast ( SD ) Northern California Owens Valley Oxnard Plain Peninsular Ranges Pomona Valley Sacramento Valley Salinas Valley San Fernando Valley San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Peninsula San Gabriel Valley San Joaquin Valley Santa Clara Valley Santa Clara River Valley Santa Clarita Valley Santa Ynez Valley Shasta Cascade Sierra Nevada Silicon Valley South Bay ( LA ) South Bay ( SD ) South Bay ( SF ) South Coast Southern Border Region Southern California Transverse Ranges Tri-Valley Victor Valley Wine Country Metro regions Metropolitan Fresno Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Sacramento San Bernardino - Riverside metropolitan area San Francisco metropolitan area San Diego -- Tijuana Counties Alameda Alpine Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa Del Norte El Dorado Fresno Glenn Humboldt Imperial Inyo Kern Kings Lake Lassen Los Angeles Madera Marin Mariposa Mendocino Merced Modoc Mono Monterey Napa Nevada Orange Placer Plumas Riverside Sacramento San Benito San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Santa Cruz Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Sonoma Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Ventura Yolo Yuba Most populous cities Los Angeles San Diego San Jose San Francisco Fresno Sacramento Long Beach Oakland Bakersfield Anaheim Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Whitney&oldid=824637020 '' Categories : Fourteeners of California Highest points of U.S. states Inyo National Forest Mountains of Inyo County, California Mountains of Sequoia National Park Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness Mountains of Tulare County, California Symbols of California Highest points of United States national parks North American 4000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the New International Encyclopedia Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Afrikaans Asturianu Azərbaycanca Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Brezhoneg Català Cebuano Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Íslenska Italiano עברית Kiswahili Latina Lietuvių Māori Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk پنجابی Polski Português Rumantsch Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 8 February 2018, at 15 : 49. 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Question: what is the highest mountain in the lower 48 united states
Answer: Mount Whitney