The term "United States," when used in the geographic sense, refers to the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, the five insular territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 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.
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). It is in East–Central California, in the Sierra Nevada, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, and 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west-northwest of North America's lowest topographic point, Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The mountain's west slope 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 eastern slopes are in Inyo National Forest in Inyo County. Mount Whitney is ranked 18th by topographic isolation.
Loma Prieta is the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California, measuring 3,790 feet (1,160 m) in height.
The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in California.
The Santa Lucia Range or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for 140 miles (230 km) to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than 11 miles (18 km) from the coast. The range forms the steepest coastal slope in the contiguous United States. Cone Peak at 5,158 feet (1,572 m) tall and three miles (5 km) from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States. The range was a barrier to exploring the coast of central California for early Spanish explorers.
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley area at its southern end.
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,847 feet (2,697 m).
The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and undeveloped area of the California North Coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, which includes the King Range. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. In addition, the steepness and related geotechnical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for state highway or county road builders to establish routes through the area, leaving it the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast. Without any major highways, communities in the Lost Coast region such as Petrolia, Shelter Cove, and Whitethorn are somewhat isolated from the rest of California.
The King Range is a mountain range of the Outer Northern California Coast Ranges system, located entirely within Humboldt County on the North Coast of California.
The Black Mountains are a mountain range located in the southern part of Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County, California, in the southeast part of Death Valley National Park.
The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System.
The Gabilan Range or Gabilán Range is a mountain range in the inner California Coast Ranges System, located in Monterey County and San Benito County of central California. Pinnacles National Park is located in the southern section of the range.
Table Mountain is located near the northern end of the Great Western Divide, a sub-range of the Sierra Nevada in California. The summit marks a point on the boundary between Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks and is 0.6 miles (1 km) south of Thunder Mountain and 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northeast of Midway Mountain.
Mount Linn, at 8,098 feet (2,468 m), is the easternmost summit of South Yolla Bolly Mountain, and is located in the Yolla Bolly Mountains of the Northern Coast Ranges and sibling Klamath Mountains System, in Tehama County, northwestern California. Mt. Linn is the highest peak in the northern California Coast Ranges south of the Trinity Alps and, along with the highest peaks of the Trinity Alps, the tallest coastal range peak within the coterminous forty-eight states. Mt. Linn is the third most prominent peak in the northern Pacific Coast Ranges behind Mt. Eddy and Caesar Peaks in the Trinity Alps and Mt. Olympus of Washington's Olympic Mountains.
Mount Eddy is the highest peak of the Trinity Mountains, a mountain range of the Klamath Mountains System, located in Siskiyou County, and Trinity County in northern California.
Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Santa Clara County, California. It is approximately 19,300 acres (7,800 ha) in area. The preserve is named for the Sierra Azul or "Blue Mountains", the name the colonizing Spanish used for the half of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of today's California Highway 17.
Island Mountain is a resistant formation of volcanic and metavolcanic rock in the Franciscan Assemblage of southwestern Trinity County, California. It was mined for sulfur metal deposits during the first half of the 20th century and was the final obstacle in the construction of a railroad line to Eureka, California in 1914. The name is applied to the range, the peak, a populated place and an abandoned railroad station, tunnel and bridge all but the first located within the S-bend of the Eel River which gave the peak its name.
North Yolla Bolly Mountain is a 7,868-foot (2,398 m) peak in the Klamath Mountains of the Coast Ranges located in Trinity County, Northern California. The mountain is located in an isolated part of the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, about 50 miles (80 km) west of Red Bluff. It is situated about 13 miles (21 km) from Mount Linn, the highest point of the Coast Ranges south of the Trinity Alps.
Thomes Creek is a major watercourse on the west side of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The creek originates in the Coast Ranges and flows east for about 62 miles (100 km) to join the Sacramento River, at a point about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Corning in Tehama County.
Mahnke Peak is a 3,652 feet (1,113 m) mountain in Mendocino County, California.
