From low-lying deserts to mountainous regions, the United States has a very diverse landscape. The highest point in North America can be found in Alaska with the mountain peak of Denali, which has a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level.
While the United States has a lot of mountainous terrain with some very high elevations, it has has some of the lowest points on Earth. The Mariana Trench, which the U.S. has jurisdiction over, is where the deepest point on Earth is found. Located in the Western Pacific Ocean, the Challenger Deep is a depression with a depth of 10,920m (35,827ft).
What are the lowest points on land within the 50 states? This article takes a look at the lowest elevation point in every state. Related: Highest Point in Every U.S. State
The elevation data cited comes from the USGS.
Lowest Point on Land in the United States
The lowest point on land in the United States can be found in Death Valley in California. Badwater Basin is anendorheic basin with a depth of 282ft (86m) belowsea level.
Once a large inland lake, salt flats now cover the basin over an area that is nearly 200 square miles (518 square km). Left behind when the lake evaporated over time, the salts found in Badwater Basin are mostly sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax.
This video from the National Park Service shows the salt flats at Badwater Basin.
Louisiana’s Low Point is Also Below Sea Level
In addition to California, one other state has its lowest point below sea level. The lowest point in Louisiana lies in the city of New Orleans with an elevation of -8 feet (-2 meters) below sea level.
Significant portions of the city of New Orleans in Louisiana are below sea level due to subsidence. Through the building of levees and flood wall, parts of the city were built over marshland and swamps. Natural and man-made subsidence has gradually lowered the elevation of parts of New Orleans. The average elevation of New Orleans varies between 1 foot (0.30m) and 2 feet (0.61m) below sea level.
States with a Low Point at Sea Level
22 states have a low point at sea level. The majority of those states are coastal states so the low point of those states extends along coastline.
The District of Columbia has a low point almost at sea level with a low elevation of 1 foot where the Potomac Rivermeets the easternMaryland border.
Most U.S. State Low Points are Waterways
In addition to states with low points at sea level, all states with low point elevations above sea level are found within rivers and lakes. These are:
- District of Columbia: Potomac Riverat easternMaryland border 1.0ft (0.3m)
- Arkansas: Ouachita RiveratLouisianaborder 55ft (17m)
- Arizona: Colorado RiveratSonoraborder,San Luis, Arizona 72ft (22m)
- Vermont: Lake Champlain 95ft (29m)
- Tennessee: Mississippi RiveratMississippiborder 178ft (54m)
- Missouri: Saint Francis Riverat southernArkansasborder 230ft (70m)
- West Virginia: Potomac RiveratVirginiaborder 240ft (73m)
- Kentucky: Mississippi RiveratKentucky Bend 257ft (78m)
- Illinois: Confluence ofMississippi RiverandOhio River 280ft (85m)
- Oklahoma: Little RiveratArkansasborder 289ft (88m)
- Indiana: Confluence ofWabash RiverandOhio River 320ft (97m)
- Ohio: Ohio RiveratIndianaborder 455ft (139m)
- Iowa: Confluence ofMississippi RiverandDes Moines River 480ft (146m)
- Nevada: Colorado RiveratCaliforniaborder 481ft (147m)
- Michigan: Lake Erie 571ft (174m)
- Wisconsin: Lake Michigan 579ft (176m)
- Minnesota: Lake Superior 601ft (183m)
- Kansas: Verdigris RiveratOklahomaborder 679ft (207m)
- Idaho: Confluence ofSnake RiverandClearwater River 713ft (217m)
- North Dakota: Red River of the NorthatManitoba border 751ft (229m)
- Nebraska: Missouri RiveratKansasborder 840ft (256m)
- South Dakota: Big Stone LakeonMinnesotaborder 968ft (295m)
- Montana: Kootenai RiveratIdahoborder 1,804ft (550m)
- Utah: Beaver Dam WashatArizonaborder 2,180ft (664m)
- New Mexico: Red Bluff ReservoironTexasborder 2,844ft (867m)
- Wyoming: Belle Fourche RiveratSouth Dakotaborder 3,101ft (945m)
- Colorado: Arikaree RiveratKansasborder 3,317ft (1011m)
Highest Low Point in the United States
TheArikaree Riveris a 156-mile-long (251km) river that flows through the centralGreat Plains of the United States. Where the Arikaree River exists Colorado at the Kansas border is the highest low point in the United States.
Read next: Geography of Extremes in the United States
Table: Alphabetical List of the Lowest Point by State
This table lists the lowest point for each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, The U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. The elevation data in the table comes from the USGS.
| State and other areas | Place | Elevation (feet) | Elevation (Meters) |
| Alabama | Gulf of Mexico | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Alaska | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Arizona | Colorado River | 70 | 21 |
| Arkansas | Ouachita River | 55 | 17 |
| California | Death Valley | -282 | -86 |
| Colorado | Arikaree River | 3,315 | 1,011 |
| Connecticut | Long Island Sound | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Delaware | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| District of Columbia | Potomac River | 1 | (Z) |
| Florida | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Georgia | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Hawaii | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Idaho | Snake River | 710 | 217 |
| Illinois | Mississippi River | 279 | 85 |
| Indiana | Ohio River | 320 | 98 |
| Iowa | Mississippi River | 480 | 146 |
| Kansas | Verdigris River | 679 | 207 |
| Kentucky | Mississippi River | 257 | 78 |
| Louisiana | New Orleans | -8 | -2 |
| Maine | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Maryland | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Massachusetts | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Michigan | Lake Erie | 571 | 174 |
| Minnesota | Lake Superior | 601 | 183 |
| Mississippi | Gulf of Mexico | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Missouri | St. Francis River | 230 | 70 |
| Montana | Kootenai River | 1,800 | 549 |
| Nebraska | Missouri River | 840 | 256 |
| Nevada | Colorado River | 479 | 146 |
| New Hampshire | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| New Jersey | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| New Mexico | Red Bluff Reservoir | 2,842 | 867 |
| New York | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| North Carolina | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| North Dakota | Red River of the North | 750 | 229 |
| Ohio | Ohio River | 455 | 139 |
| Oklahoma | Little River | 289 | 88 |
| Oregon | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Pennsylvania | Delaware River | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Rhode Island | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| South Carolina | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| South Dakota | Big Stone Lake | 966 | 295 |
| Tennessee | Mississippi River | 178 | 54 |
| Texas | Gulf of Mexico | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Utah | Beaverdam Wash | 2,000 | 610 |
| Vermont | Lake Champlain | 95 | 29 |
| Virginia | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Washington | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| West Virginia | Potomac River | 240 | 73 |
| Wisconsin | Lake Michigan | 579 | 177 |
| Wyoming | Belle Fourche River | 3,099 | 945 |
| Other areas: | |||
| Puerto Rico | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| American Samoa | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Guam | Pacific Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
| Virgin Islands | Atlantic Ocean | Sea Level | Sea Level |
Related
- Highest Point in Every U.S. State
- U.S. States With the Most Extreme Elevation Spans
- Geology Quick Facts for Each U.S. State
- The Highest 11 Mountains in the United States
- Alaska’s Coastline is Longer Than All the Other 49 States Combined
- Geography Extremes
- Seven Summits: The Tallest Mountain on Each Continent
- Lowest Natural Point in Japan
