The term "United States," when used in the geographical sense, refers to the contiguous United States, the state of Alaska, the island state of Hawaii, the five insular territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, and minor outlying possessions. The United States shares land borders with Canada and Mexico and maritime borders with Russia, Cuba, The Bahamas, and many other countries, mainly in the Caribbeanin addition to Canada and Mexico. The northern border of the United States with Canada is the world's longest bi-national land border.
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe of Native Americans, formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past millennium.
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted for both its arid climate and the basin and range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. The region spans several physiographic divisions, biomes, ecoregions, and deserts.
The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt playa 100 miles (160 km) north of Reno, Nevada that encompasses more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) of land and contains more than 120 miles (200 km) of historic trails. It is in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan.
The Quinn River, once known as the Queen River, is an intermittent river, approximately 110 miles (180 km) long, in the desert of northwestern Nevada in the United States. It drains an enclosed basin inside the larger Great Basin.
Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, Inyo County, California, noted as the lowest point in North America and the United States, with a depth of 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, is only 84.6 miles (136 km) to the northwest.
White Mountain Peak, at 14,252-foot (4,344 m), is the highest peak in the White Mountains of California, the highest peak in Mono County, and the third highest peak in the state after Mount Whitney and Mount Williamson. In spite of its name, the summit block of the peak has large swaths of very dark and colorful orange scree and rock as it is composed of Mesozoic metavolcanic rock - lava lifted and melted by rising granite.
Palomar Mountain is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park.
Togwotee Pass is a high mountain pass in the western United States, at an elevation of 9,655 feet (2,943 m) above sea level. On the Continental Divide in the Absaroka Mountains of northwestern Wyoming in Teton County, it is between Dubois and Moran Junction in the Jackson Hole valley.
Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the Paiute, Goshute, Bannock, Ute, and Timbisha tribes.
The Indian Pass Wilderness is 32,418-acre (13,119 ha) wilderness area under the administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The reserve is located in the very southeastern part of the Chocolate Mountains, in the southeastern part of California, just to the west of the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley. It adjoins the Picacho Peak Wilderness to the south, and the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge to the east.
Adams is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It was formerly Adams Springs, a summer resort developed around a small group of mineral water springs.
Toro Peak, in Southern California, is the highest mountain in the Santa Rosa Mountain Range. It is located 15 mi (24 km) south of Palm Springs, 12 mi (19 km) west of the Salton Sea, and 31 mi (50 km) east of Temecula, in the County of Riverside, California.
Indian Head Peak is a prominent 7,400+ ft mountain summit located in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, in the North Cascades of Washington state. The mountain is situated in Chelan County, on land managed by the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. Its nearest higher neighbor is Kololo Peaks, 3.29 mi (5.29 km) to the north. Indian Head Peak is the second-highest point on Wenatchee Ridge, a subrange which also includes Mount Saul, Whittier Peak, and Mount David. Precipitation runoff from it drains into Indian Creek and White River, tributaries of the Wenatchee River.
Johnson Mountain is a 6,721-foot (2,049-metre) mountain summit located in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades in Washington state. The mountain is situated in eastern Snohomish County, in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Its nearest higher peak is White Mountain, 3.3 mi (5.3 km) to the northeast, along with Indian Head Peak 3.38 mi (5.44 km) to the east. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Sauk River. The mountain's name honors Mackinaw Johnson, a prospector who had a cabin in the vicinity.
Mount Foresta is an 11,000+ ft multi-peak massif located in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park, in the Saint Elias Mountains of Alaska in the United States. Rising high above the lower western margin of the Hubbard Glacier, the summit of Mount Foresta is just over 9 mi (14 km) from tidewater at Disenchantment Bay, 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Mount Seattle, 14.5 mi (23 km) southeast of Mount Vancouver, and 46 mi (74 km) north of Yakutat.
Indian Mountain is a remote 7,133-foot (2,174-metre) mountain summit in the Skagit Range of the North Cascades, in Whatcom County of Washington state. Indian Mountain is situated in North Cascades National Park, 7 miles south of the Canada–United States border. Its nearest higher neighbor is Red Face Mountain, 1.14 mi (1.83 km) to the southeast, and Whatcom Peak rises 2.9 mi (4.7 km) to the south. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant since this peak rises over 4,100 feet above Brush Creek Valley in approximately one mile. Precipitation runoff from Indian Mountain drains into tributaries of the Chilliwack River.
Needham Mountain is a mountain summit of the Sierra Nevada, located in Tulare County, California. It is located in the southern Sierra Nevada, in the central part of Sequoia National Park. Needham Mountain is 6 mi (9.7 km) miles east of Mineral King, 5.6 mi (9.0 km) northeast of Mount Kaweah, and 17 mi (27 km) southwest of the highest peak in the state, Mount Whitney. With an altitude of 12,536 ft (3,821 m), Needham Mountain is the twentieth-highest mountain in California with a prominence of 1,880 ft (570 m). The mountain is named after an American congressman who represented California at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, James C. Needham. The first ascent of the summit was made in July 1916, by M. R. Parsons, Agnes Vaile, H. B. Graham, and Edmund Chamberlain.
Mount Crowder is a remote 7,082-foot (2,159-metre) mountain summit in the Picket Range of the North Cascades, in Whatcom County of Washington state. Mount Crowder is situated in North Cascades National Park and Stephen Mather Wilderness. Neighbors include Mount Fury, 1.64 mi (2.64 km) to the northeast, and Twin Needles is set 2.3 mi (3.7 km) to the southeast. Precipitation runoff from this peak drains south into headwaters of Goodell Creek, and northwest into Picket Creek which is a tributary of the Baker River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 4,300 feet above Goodell Creek in approximately one mile.
Red Face Mountain is a 7,141-foot-elevation (2,177-meter) summit in Whatcom County of Washington state.
