 the term four-thousand footers (or "4ks") refers to a group of forty-eight mountains in new hampshire at least 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) above sea level. to qualify a peak must also meet a more technical criterion of topographic prominence important in the mountaineering sport of "peak-bagging". most often, the term "four-thousand footers" refers to the white mountains four-thousand-footers list established (and revised from time to time) by the appalachian mountain club. this list of peaks may be referred to as the "four-thousand footers of new hampshire," or "the four-thousand footers of the white mountains". the amc calls it the white mountains list, but most hikers call it the new hampshire list because it does not include old speck (4,170&nbsp;ft), located in maine (and outside the white mountain national forest) but within the white mountains. the amc also maintains a list of new england 4000-footers, all falling within vermont, new hampshire, and maine. other lists of 4000-footers not maintained by the amc include the original set of four-thousand foot mountains for peak-bagging: the 46 high peaks in the adirondacks. the amc has revised its 4000-footer lists as surveying became more accurate or the selection criteria were adjusted, with the white mountains list growing from 46 peaks in the 1950s to 48 in 1982. the proper inclusion or exclusion of several peaks is still a matter of some dispute. the 48 lie in the white mountain national forest and within two of the northernmost counties of new hampshire, coos and grafton. all peaks except those of mount washington, mount moosilauke and cannon mountain are on land owned by the forest service, and even these three are almost completely surrounded by it. ==prominence criterion== a "prominence" criterion is intended to exclude peaks which are considered local peaks of some larger mountain, rather than "independent" peaks. prominence is the vertical separation between a peak and the low point of the highest ridge connecting it to a higher peak. in other words, prominence is the minimum distance a hiker must descend before climbing to reach a higher peak. for the amc's 4000-footer lists, the minimum prominence for inclusion on the list is . earlier versions of the list required either  of prominence or a quarter-mile of separation. ==four thousand footer club== a committee of the appalachian mountain club (amc) served as a focus for settling on the criteria and collecting the information that verifies the peaks as meeting them; it also maintains a list of the 
Lists_of_mountains Mountaineering Mountains_of_New_Hampshire New_England_Four-thousand_footers Peak_bagging_in_the_United_States