United States Mountain Ranges Map

The United States has a varied landscape with many mountain ranges and other geographical features. Major mountain ranges in the United States are the Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Alaska Range, the Cascades, and the Sierra Nevadas. These ranges are further divided into smaller subranges and ridges.

At 6,194 meters (20,320 feet) above sea level, Mount McKinley in Alaska is the tallest mountain peak in the US.

Mount Logan is the second tallest, at 5,959 meters (19,545 feet), followed by Mount Orizaba, Mount St. Elias, and Mount Popocatepetl.

The tallest mountain peak in the contiguous United States is Mount Whitney which stands at 4421 meters (14,505 feet). If you like to know about the world’s tallest mountains, check out this article: Tallest Mountains in the World.

Major mountain ranges in the US

• Rocky Mountains :

  The Rockies are a major mountain range in North America, running 3,000 miles from western Canada to the state of New Mexico. The Rockies include several subranges, including the Wasatch, Bitterroots, Big Horn, and Front Ranges. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are considered Mountain States in the country.

• Appalachian Mountains :

  The Appalachian Mountain Range straddle the eastern United States, stretching from Alabama, northeast across New England, and extending further up to Canada. The range is about 1,500 miles long, and traverses the US states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The Appalachian Range also usually includes the Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Smoky Mountains, and Allegheny Mountains.

• Cascades :

  The Cascade Range along the West Coast of the United States extend from Canada into the US states of Washington, Oregon, and California. These mountains were formed as part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and feature volcanoes such as Mount St. Helens and Lassen.

• Sierra Nevada :

  The Sierra Nevada mountains, located in the western states of California and Nevada, are about 400 miles long. The name Sierra Nevada is Spanish for “snowy mountains,” referring to the snow-capped summits. Many of the mountains are formed of granite and shaped by glaciers.

Source:  National Geodetic Survey