Black Elk Peak - wikipedia Black Elk Peak Black Elk Peak Black Elk Peak from Palmer Gulch ( August 2006 ) Highest point Elevation 7,244 ft ( 2,208 m ) NAVD 88 Prominence 2,922 ft ( 891 m ) Listing North America isolated peaks 87th U.S. state high point 15th Coordinates 43 ° 51 ′ 57 '' N 103 ° 31 ′ 57 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.865847725 ° N 103.532431997 ° W ﻿ / 43.865847725 ; - 103.532431997 Coordinates : 43 ° 51 ′ 57 '' N 103 ° 31 ′ 57 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.865847725 ° N 103.532431997 ° W ﻿ / 43.865847725 ; - 103.532431997 Geography Black Elk Peak Pennington County, South Dakota, U.S. Parent range Black Hills Topo map USGS Custer Climbing First ascent July 24, 1875 by Valentine McGillycuddy and party Easiest route hike, Trail 9 Southwestern South Dakota Sculpture Mount Rushmore ( National Memorial ) Crazy Horse Geologic formations Badlands ( National Park ) Bear Butte ( National Historic Landmark ) Needles Black Hills Spearfish Canyon Mountains Black Elk Peak Iron Mountain Caves Wind Cave ( National Park ) Jewel Cave ( National Monument ) Forests and wildernesses Custer ( State Park ) Black Hills ( National Forest ) Black Elk ( Wilderness ) Buffalo Gap ( National Grassland ) Lakes Sylvan Pactola Black Elk Peak ( formerly Harney Peak ) is the highest natural point in South Dakota, United States. It lies in the Black Elk Wilderness area, in southern Pennington County, in the Black Hills National Forest. The peak lies 3.7 mi ( 6.0 km ) west - southwest of Mount Rushmore. At 7,242 feet ( 2,207 m ), it has been described by the Board on Geographical Names as the highest summit in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is also known as Hiŋháŋ Káǧa ( in Lakota ). The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which has jurisdiction in federal lands, officially changed the mountain 's name from `` Harney Peak '' to `` Black Elk Peak '' on August 11, 2016, honoring Black Elk, the noted Lakota Sioux medicine man for whom the Wilderness Area is named. Professional but unofficial measurements in 2016 found the highest natural rock to be at 7,231.32 feet ( 2,204.11 m ) NAVD88 and the nearby secondary peak slightly lower at 7,229.41 feet ( 2,203.52 m ). Contents 1 Hiŋháŋ Káǧa 2 History 3 Hiking 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links Hiŋháŋ Káǧa This peak was called Hiŋháŋ Káǧa ( `` Owl maker '', after rock formations that look like owls and the association of owls with impending death by the Lakota Sioux ). They dominated this region and occupied the territory at the time of European colonization. They considered it a sacred site within the Black Hills, which they call Pahá Sápa and Ȟé Sápa. The mountain was named Harney Peak in 1855 by American Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren in honor of US General William S. Harney, his commander in a regional military expedition. In punitive retaliation for other Sioux raids, in September 1855 Harney 's forces killed Brulé Sioux warriors, women and children in what Americans called the Battle of Blue Water Creek in Garden County, Nebraska. Harney later commanded the United States military in the Black Hills area in the late 1870s. The Lakota have tried to get the name of the peak changed for 50 years, as Harney had massacred their people. In 2014 the Sioux renewed their effort to get the name changed, in an effort led by Basil Brave Heart of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A Korean War veteran, he felt that Harney had not honored the military with his action. Some Lakota requested state officials in 2015 to reinstate their original name Hinhan Kaga for the peak. The Lakota Council of the Pine Ridge Reservation and descendants of Black Elk, a noted medicine man, supported naming it for him, as the national wilderness area around the peak is named for the shaman. He became known beyond the Lakota in part through the book Black Elk Speaks ( 1932 ), written by John G. Neihardt from long talks with the shaman. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard opposed the name change, as did other state officials, and no action was taken in 2015. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially changed the mountain 's name from `` Harney Peak '' to `` Black Elk Peak '' on August 11, 2016, by a unanimous vote of 12 -- 0, with one abstention. On August 18, 2016, Gov. Daugaard announced that the state would accept the new name. History Hinhan Kaga and the Black Hills were protected within the Great Sioux Reservation established by the United States government in the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 ; it covered most of the territory west of the Missouri River in South Dakota ( the area now called West River ). American settlement was concentrated east of the river, where there was more water for farming. The first Americans believed to have reached the summit were a party led by General George Armstrong Custer in 1874, during the Black Hills expedition. He was looking for gold. The federal government took back the Black Hills and another strip of land in a new treaty in 1877. More than a decade later, it broke up the Great Sioux Reservation in 1889 into five smaller reservations, the same year that North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted as states to the Union. The government made some 9 million acres of former Lakota land available for purchase for ranching and homesteading. Most American settlement in West River did not start until the early 20th century. The area attracted many European immigrants as well as migrants from the East. Black Elk Peak is the site where Black Elk ( Lakota Sioux ) received his `` Great Vision '' when nine years old. He later became a medicine man known for his wisdom. Late in life, he returned to the peak accompanied by writer John Neihardt. Black Elk was sharing much of his life and philosophy with Neihardt through long talks translated by his son. Neihardt tried to express the medicine man 's wisdom in his book Black Elk Speaks ( 1932 ). Neihardt recorded Black Elk 's words about his vision as follows : `` I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world, '' he is quoted as saying. `` And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw ; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. '' American settlers used Black Elk Peak as a fire lookout tower in 1911, with a wood crate placed at the summit for a seat. In 1920, a 12'x12 ' wood structure was built, and it was expanded to 16'x16 ' the following year. The federal Civilian Conservation Corps enlisted local men and completed construction of a stone fire tower in 1938, one of numerous projects in the state during the Great Depression. The Harney Peak fire tower was last staffed in 1967. A United States post office was operated at Black Elk Peak from 1936 until 1942, and again from 1945 until 1946. The Harney Peak post office was reportedly one of the `` most elevated post offices in the United States ''. In May 2015 the South Dakota Board of Geographic Names recommended renaming Harney Peak as Hinhan Kaga, to remove the name of a commander known for massacring Sioux women and children at the Battle of Blue Water Creek and to honor the original Lakota name for the mountain. At the end of the following month, the board reversed the recommendation that the peak be renamed saying that `` there was no public consensus on a new name. '' The Lakota were divided on a preferred name, and Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard and some other Americans opposed any name change. The recommendation for renaming went to the federal US Board on Geographic Names. The federal board acknowledged that the name was of concern to the Lakota, and its spokesman said, `` In this case, the board felt that the name was derogatory or offensive, being that it was on a holy site of the Native Americans. '' In a decision published August 11, 2016, the United States Board on Geographic Names adopted the name `` Black Elk Peak. '' Hiking The summit can be reached from Sylvan Lake, Camp Remington, Highway 244, Palmer Creek Rd., Mount Rushmore, or Horse Thief Lake. From the trailhead at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, to the summit and back is about 7 miles ( 11 km ). This is the shortest, least strenuous, and most popular route. No permit is required for use of the first portion of the trail. However, the United States Forest Service requires hikers to obtain a permit at a self - service kiosk located at the entrance to the Black Elk Wilderness area en route to the summit. An old stone tower, once used as a fire lookout tower, is located at the summit. The ashes of Valentine McGillycuddy were interred near the base of the tower and a plaque reads, `` Valentine McGillycuddy, Wasicu Wakan. '' Wasicu Wakan is Lakota for `` Holy White Man. '' Gallery Granite Knob and Harney 's Peak, by William H. Illingworth, 1874 View from the top of the Black Elk Peak lookout tower. Fire lookout tower at the summit. A Mountain goat near the top of Black Elk Peak. A man - made dam is located near the summit. See also Geography portal South Dakota portal Mountains portal List of U.S. states by elevation List of mountains in South Dakota Notes Jump up ^ See chapter 3 and the Author 's Postscript of Black Elk Speaks, Bison Books, 2004. References ^ Jump up to : `` Harney ''. NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 08. ^ Jump up to : `` Harney Peak, South Dakota ''. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 29. Jump up ^ James R. Macdonald, Ph. D ( 2009 ). `` Museum of Geology : History ''. Rapid City, South Dakota : South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 10. ^ Jump up to : `` Harney Area Trailheads ''. South Dakota Fish, Game and Parks. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1977 ^ Jump up to : David Rooks, `` Breaking : Black Elk Peak Soars Above The He Sapa, No Longer Harney Peak '', Indian Country Today, 12 August 2016 ; accessed 12 August 2016 Jump up ^ Jerry Penry. `` Harney Peak 's Elevation ''. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 19. Jump up ^ Tupper, Seth ( 2016 - 12 - 26 ). `` How South Dakota 's high point ended up shorter than thought ''. Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 26. ^ Jump up to : Carrie Moore ( 2015 ). `` Hill City Prevailer - News ''. Hill City Prevailer - News. Archived from the original on 2015 - 10 - 18. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 04. ^ Jump up to : Steve Russell, `` Names Have Power : Denali and Other Colonist Lies '', Indian Country Today, 4 September 2015 ; accessed 4 November 2016 ^ Jump up to : `` Black Elk Peak ''. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 11 August 2016. ^ Jump up to : Stu Whitney, `` Whitney : In defense of Black Elk Peak '', Argus Leader, 12 August 2016 ; accessed 15 August 2016 ^ Jump up to : David Rooks, `` Black Elk Peak ' Answer to Many Prayers ' : Basil Brave Heart '', Indian Country Today, 15 August 2016 ; accessed 15 August 2016 Jump up ^ Nord, James ( May 1, 2015 ). `` Activists work for Native American - friendly site names ''. The Elkhart Truth. Associated Press. Jump up ^ Louwagie, Lacey ( July 6, 2015 ). `` Despite Objections, ' Harney Peak ' Name Stays ''. Courthouse News Service. Jump up ^ Tupper, Seth ( 19 August 2016 ). `` Gov : State wo n't fight Harney rename ''. Rapid City Journal. pp. A1. Jump up ^ Connell, Evan S. ( 1984 ). Son Of The Morning Star. San Francisco, California : North Point Press. pp. 237 -- 238. ISBN 0 - 86547 - 160 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Harney Peak ''. SouthDakota.com. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Saum, Bradley D. ( 2013 ). Harney Peak Revealed. Createspace. pp. 34 -- 36. ISBN 9781478316756. Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Harney Peak Post Office ( historical ) Jump up ^ Federal Writers ' Project ( 1940 ). South Dakota place - names, v. 1 -- 3. University of South Dakota. p. 40. ^ Jump up to : South Dakota Board of Geographic Names ( 2015 ). `` Harney Peak Written Public Comments '' ( PDF ). South Dakota Board of Geographic Names. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 04. Jump up ^ `` In Reversal, SD Board Would Keep Harney Peak Name ''. Pierre, SD : Associated Press. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015. Jump up ^ Nord, James ( 11 August 2016 ). `` Feds Rename South Dakota 's Highest Peak to Black Elk Peak ''. ABC News. Retrieved 11 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Harney Peak ''. SummitPost.org. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 12. Jump up ^ `` McGillycuddy House at the heart of city history ''. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 12. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Elk Peak. Regenold, Stephen ( 2008 - 04 - 02 ). `` High in the Black Hills, as Seasons Turn ''. The New York Times. `` Facts About Harney Peak ''. Climbing.About.com. The 107 most isolated major summits of the United States of America Denali Mauna Kea Mount Whitney Mount Mitchell Mount Washington Mount Rainier Mount Elbert Shishaldin Volcano Tanaga Volcano Mount Isto Signal Hill Mount Shasta Gannett Peak Mount Osborn Mount Igikpak Humphreys Peak Wheeler Peak Mount Vsevidof Mount Veniaminof Kawaikini Dillingham HP Hall Island HP Spruce Knob Kings Peak Sierra Blanca Peak San Gorgonio Mountain Katahdin Peak 4030 Tooth Benchmark Mount Baldy Borah Peak Cloud Peak Black Elk Peak Slide Mountain Mount Griggs Charleston Peak Junipero Serra Peak Mount Baker Mount Marcy Mount Hayes Mount Marcus Baker Sacajawea Peak Steens Mountain Mount Fairweather Delano Peak Mount Olympus Black Mountain Blanca Peak Mount Tozi Mount Cleveland Mount Jefferson Mount Torbert Mount Chiginagak Hualapai Peak Baldy Peak Ruby Dome Pavlof Volcano Truuli Peak South Baldy Great Sitkin Volcano Eagle Peak Mount Taylor Accomplishment Peak Granite Peak Kiska Volcano Korovin Volcano Uncompahgre Peak Devils Paw Ka ʻala Koniag Peak Cache Peak Makushin Volcano Snowshoe Peak Mount Pinos Granite Peak Mount Graham West Butte Guadalupe Peak Veniaminof Peak McDonald Peak Hilgard Peak Haleakalā Mount Nebo Tweedy Mountain Blackburn Hills Buldir Volcano Mount Peale Mount Tom White Cinnabar Mountain Mount McLoughlin Lassen Peak Clingmans Dome Kaibab Plateau HP Anvil Peak Grand Teton Star Peak Laramie Peak White Mountain Peak Miller Peak Kusilvak HP Copernicus Peak Sugarloaf Mountain Chiricahua Peak Mount Harper Mount Angayukaqsraq Mount Prindle Bearpaw Baldy 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 Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming Attractions Bear Butte Black Elk Wilderness Black Hills Central Railroad Black Hills National Forest Black Elk Peak Black Hills Playhouse Chapel in the Hills Crazy Horse Memorial Custer State Park Devils Tower Dinosaur Park Flintstones Bedrock City Homestake Mine Jewel Cave National Monument Mammoth Site Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mystic Miner Ski Resort Needles Pactola Lake Reptile Gardens Rushmore Cave Sheridan Lake Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Sylvan Lake Terry Peak ski area Wind Cave National Park with bison herd Scenic routes Roads Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road Needles Highway Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway Trails Mickelson Centennial Trail Populated places Cities Belle Fourche Central City Custer Deadwood Edgemont Hot Springs Hill City Lead Newcastle Rapid City Spearfish Sturgis Whitewood Towns Buffalo Gap Fairburn Hermosa Keystone Pringle Sundance Unincorporated Dewey Four Mile Galena Hanna Johnson Siding Nemo Rochford Rockerville Silver City Three Forks History and people Native American Cheyenne people Lakota people Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ) established the Great Sioux Reservation Black Hills War, or Great Sioux War ( 1876 ) Black Elk Sitting Bull Crazy Horse Lone Horn Red Cloud Spotted Tail Old West Dakota Territory ( 1861 -- 1889 ) Black Hills Expedition ( 1874 ) Black Hills Gold Rush ( 1874 ) Newton -- Jenney Party ( 1875 ) Cheyenne - Black Hills Stage Route ( 1876 - 1887 ) Sidney - Black Hills Stage Road ( 1876 - 1887 ) Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad ( 1893 -- 1947 ) Seth Bullock and Martha Bullock General George Armstrong Custer Dora DuFran Wild Bill Hickok Calamity Jane Historian Doane Robinson Sol Star Al Swearengen Charlie Utter Ghost towns Addie Camp Bismuth Blacktail Burdock Cambria Carbonate Etta Flatiron Greenwood Maitland Myers City Nahant Novak Pactola Sheridan Spokane Terraville Tigerville Tinton Trojan Modern Fossil Cycad National Monument ( 1922 - 1957 ) Stratobowl ( 1934 - 1959 ) Black Hills flood ( 1972 ) Sculptors Gutzon Borglum and Lincoln Borglum Author Joseph Bottum Politician Francis H. Case Poet Charles Badger Clark Historian Watson Parker Road junctions Carlile Junction Cheyenne Crossing Four Corners Four Mile Keystone Wye Maverick Junction Mule Creek Junction Related Mount Rushmore in popular culture State of South Dakota Pierre ( capital ) Topics Bibliography Cities Delegations Famous South Dakotans Geography Government History Timeline Towns & Villages Townships Transportation State Parks Symbols Universities Tourist attractions Seal of South Dakota Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Badlands Black Hills Coteau des Prairies Coteau du Missouri Dissected Till Plains Drift Prairie East River Pine Ridge Siouxland West River Larger cities pop. over 5,000 Aberdeen Belle Fourche Box Elder Brandon Brookings Harrisburg Huron Madison Mitchell Pierre Rapid City Sioux Falls Spearfish Sturgis Tea Vermillion Watertown Yankton Smaller cities pop. 1,000 - 5,000 Baltic Beresford Britton Canton Chamberlain Clark Clear Lake Crooks Custer De Smet Deadwood Dell Rapids Eagle Butte Elk Point Flandreau Fort Pierre Freeman Garretson Gettysburg Gregory Groton Hartford Hill City Hot Springs Lead Lemmon Lennox Martin Milbank Miller Mission Mobridge North Sioux City Parker Parkston Platte Redfield Salem Sisseton Springfield Summerset Tyndall Volga Wagner Webster Winner Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000 Blackhawk Colonial Pine Hills Dakota Dunes Fort Thompson North Eagle Butte North Spearfish Oglala Pine Ridge Porcupine Rapid Valley Rosebud Largest towns pop. over 500 Aurora Humboldt St. Francis Wall Counties Aurora Beadle Bennett Bon Homme Brookings Brown Brule Buffalo Butte Campbell Charles Mix Clark Clay Codington Corson Custer Davison Day Deuel Dewey Douglas Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Gregory Haakon Hamlin Hand Hanson Harding Hughes Hutchinson Hyde Jackson Jerauld Jones Kingsbury Lake Lawrence Lincoln Lyman Marshall McCook McPherson Meade Mellette Miner Minnehaha Moody Oglala Lakota Pennington Perkins Potter Roberts Sanborn Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turner Union Walworth Yankton Ziebach Mountains of South Dakota Black Hills Bear Butte Bear Mountain Black Elk Peak Cicero Peak Elk Mountains Iron Mountain Mount Rushmore Terry Peak Others Black Horse Butte Castle Rock Butte Deers Ears Butte Dogie Butte Eagle Butte Granite Peak Grindstone Butte Hump Butte Polo Peak Turtle Butte White Butte Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Elk_Peak&oldid=817179937 '' Categories : Mountains of South Dakota Black Hills Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Landforms of Pennington County, South Dakota Sacred mountains Highest points of U.S. states Black Hills National Forest North American 2000 m summits Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from July 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Cebuano Deutsch Français Norsk پنجابی Polski Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 26 December 2017, at 18 : 31. 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Question: what is the highest point in south dakota
Answer: Black Elk Peak