Lowest Point in Each State of the USA + Geoid and Vertical Relief

A quick survey of lowpoints (lowest elevation points) for every state of the United States. Includes some geological and topographic highlights. Geoid heights are used for sea level lowpoints. At the end of the video, there is a plot of mean elevation and vertical relief by state.
Keywords: Geography Viz, United States Geography, Lowpoints, Lowpointing, Lowest Elevation by State, Geoid, Vertical Relief
Data sources:
pubs.usgs.gov/gip/Elevations-...
highpointers.org/us-lowpoint-...
Geoid - EGM2008 1' geoid model (EPSG::1027)
ESRI World Imagery basemaps (CONANP, Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, EPA, NPS, Earthstar Geographics)

[@BlackTomorrowMusic]

For the Florida low point, I sure wasn't expecting it to be my former hometown. No wonder I always thought living there was the low point in my life.

[@JTA1961]

A bunch of low~lifes...

[@smartsthemiddlename6296]

LMAOOOO

[@diarian]

so you had a “sinking” feeling🤔

[@andrewthomas7109]

I had absolutely no idea that Alaska had land below sea level. Thanks for teaching me something!

[@pokor5791]

The lowest point for me in the United States is found in Michigan within Lake Superior (see my other comment).

[@FewVidsJustComments]

You need to put a spoiler alert or something. Now I know how the video will end >:(

[@Nascar995]

Here in Maryland we pronounce it like “pa-to-mic”, not “pato-mac”. The river’s hugely important for the geography of Maryland, Virginia, DC and West Virginia. It’s also a huuuuge river, suuuper wide in parts.

[@Transmontaine]

Yours is the proper pronunciation. See my note above about the river being famous but clearly some think it isn’t. 😄

[@john_sensei_ii]

Funny how for every state except California and Alaska, their lowest point is either on a border or a coast

[@skeleex]

Coincidently California and Alaska have the highest points of any state

[@r22gamer54]

yeah cause its a lot of rivers and rivers border states

[@JamieElli]

Because on any river, its lowest point will be when it flows out of a state. And most basins get filled with water.

[@Nick_J_]

Alaska’s is on a coast, actually. There is a lake there! Mwanwhile, the spot shown in Louisiana is not a coast, but is in fact a bit of road that cuts under railway tracks. It is close to the coast, but not on it

[@user-cq6dg6ql9j]

I’ve always loved geography. I am lucky enough to have a little son who surprisingly shares the same interest and we enjoy watching your videos together. Thank you.

[@geogviz]

I am very happy to hear this. Thank you for the comment! I'm so glad you enjoy geography videos with your son.

[@matthewdrennen1710]

WEST VIRGINIA has the highest average elevation of any state east of the Mississippi River. It's also the only state located entirely within a mountain range.

[@titusmetcalfe1344]

U call those mountains😤

[@matthewdrennen1710]

@@titusmetcalfe1344 Have you ever driven from Richmond, VA, to Charleston, WV, on the WV Turnpike? Have you ever been to, or driven through, Monroe or Pocahontas counties? Do you pronounce "Appalachia", "Ap-uh-LAY-shuh", as if the indigenous people, that the area was name after, were French? If your answers are "no", "no" and "yes", respectively, please, don't embarrass yourself any further and just STFU. ;-)

[@ronmcmartin4513]

One could make the argument that E. Colorado is the Alluvial Fan of the Rockies. Like the lower portions of the "Hollers", where the towns are located next to the rivers.

[@thatguythere98]

@@titusmetcalfe1344 Bro is gatekeeping mountains

[@samwalko]

For Kentucky, technically it should be a bit further west at the southwest corner of the Kentucky Bend. Even if it's exclaved, it still counts!

[@edwardrhoads7283]

Would be interesting to do this same video but instead of the tops of lakes/rivers you take the elevations of the bottoms. I was thinking about that with Death Valley. If that area actually got decent amounts of rain that would be a lake. I am betting there are a lot of lake bottoms that are below sea level.

[@GhostOfJulesVerne]

In the state of Washington, the bottom of Lake Chelan is 388 feet below sea level! (The lake surface is 1100 feet above sea level.)

[@solandri69]

Look up the Salton Sea in California. Roughly 230 ft below sea level. It was formed when irrigation canals carrying Colorado River water failed, allowing the Colorado River to flood the entire region (well, Gulf of Mexico since the water flowed backwards). Being below sea level, there was no way for the water to leave. So it just stayed there.

[@edwardrhoads7283]

@@GhostOfJulesVerne Yeah that is the cool stuff I would like to see a video on.

[@nairsheasterling9457]

It used to be a lake.

[@Cjinglaterra]

Some lakes reach way below sea level. Great Slave Lake up in Canada has a bottom that is 1,502 feet below sea level. Deepest lake in North America, but there’s a few others that are more than a thousand feet deep.

[@Transmontaine]

Nice video but have you never heard of the Potomac River? Not pronounced “pot-oh-mack” but “puh-toe-meck” It’s one of the most famous rivers in the U. S. As it originates in West Virginia and runs through Washington, by the landmarks of our nations capitol. It is often referenced. 😮

[@chewy2804]

Never heard of it

[@Transmontaine]

@@user-otzlixr my family knows how to pronounce Potomac. The pity goes to your family.

[@Transmontaine]

@@chewy2804 if you went to school in the US, then you definitely heard of it. You just don’t remember it.

[@diddykong521]

I’ve never heard it said like that and I only live like 50 miles from it

[@Transmontaine]

@@diddykong521 you never heard it pronounced which way? Puh-toe-meck or Pot-mack?

[@vipahman]

With so many low points, I'm feeling slightly high here in CT.

[@alancline2810]

The lowest point in Colorado is where the Arkansas river flows into Kansas. The elevation at that place is 3150.

[@clintonrice525]

I liked the video, and especially the geoid tiebreaker, but think there was room to talk more about some of the river low points and even Lake Erie, since those offer some insights about broader land slope, and in some cases are counterintuitive (e.g., Missouri having a downslope just a few miles from the Mississippi that feeds a tributary southward to meet up later in Arkansas).

[@MyDude199]

TBF on that, most of that area has a gradient of a few feet. Its entirely flat and was a big swamp till it was drained. So maybe pre-engineered flatlands all were ssomwhat interconnected, especially during floods.

[@anotheryoutuber2819]

This guy is straight to the point i love it

[@tommunyon2874]

New Mexico's very high lowest point means no citrus growing for us, unlike neighboring Arizona.

[@JTA1961]

That I didn't know... at least you get "real" fireworks

[@davidbrinkman7282]

Thank you for this video, very interesting

[@owenbuckleywfb]

Out of all of these, it took until Alaska for there to be a low point not on a state border or on a gigantic body of water

[@nairsheasterling9457]

Almost like geographic borders often follow geographic high and low points. Wild.

[@Ceci_et_Cela]

Wow, Alaska made into the top 3 in both your Highest and Lowest uploads!

[@sophierobinson2738]

Interesting that the low points are on state boundaries.

[@ohnoohyeah3205]

Thank you for helping me become formidable on trivia night.

[@thedoomofred5174]

I don’t know why I’m surprised you pronounced Belle Fourche correctly but good job

[@TheMinecraftCookie]

I thought you had at least a few thousand subs! Keep up the work.

[@roccobierman4985]

California and Alaska both have the highest and lowest points of the US? Pretty amazing.

[@nasunorahl]

Thanks for the great videos!

[@RWBHere]

134°F in Death Valley. I've been in 129°F in the shade, and that was unbearable because of elevated humidity. We watched our lawn go from green to brown and apparently dead in less than an hour that afternoon. The soil subsurface temperature was over 180°F at 1 inch below the surface. It was impossible to wear black shoes in the sunlight without scalding your feet. We were drinking cold lightly salted water by the pint all day, and taking cold showers every couple of hours. But at 04:00 the next morning, the temperature was 34°F. There is no way that I would want to experience outdoor temperatures of 134° in a desert with limited amounts of drinking water.

[@loriw5457]

Just happened upon your video. I liked it ! Quick and to the 'point' (no pun intended). BTW - I am an 'office' land surveyor by trade. Thanks for your posting.

[@DerrickSylvesterJamesJr]

your Alabama star was located on the city of Mobile, likely on the Mobile Bay or Mobile river. Grand Bay is about 40 miles south of that.

[@cobraspottedwolf8791]

Thanks for not playing music in the background

[@JTA1961]

That really would be a "low point"...

[@justinmyers6737]

Great idea for video. But would've been nice if you listed the elevations.

[@mrozzymania]

@geogviz you made an error with utah one beaver dam wash is actually 2180 ft not 2000ft

[@Chase3141]

4:19 shouldn’t California be the second highest slope, since Death Valley is relatively close to Mount Whitney? (87.5 miles in a straight line, according to google maps, vs about 110 for rainier to the ocean)

[@NikkiTheViolist]

Probably should've expected nearly every one of these to be on the state border

[@spagbol525]

Colorado be like: *Can we get much higher?*

[@JTA1961]

Cars before fuel injection musta been problematic as heck to get to run "right"

[@BosProductions]

great video!

[@andyjay729]

Big Stone Lake is very close to the drainage divide between the Gulf of Mexico (via the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers) and Hudson Bay (via the Red River of the North). The divide actually passes through a valley called Traverse Gap (one of few valleys on Earth to have a drainage divide) and in some floods water has actually flowed from one basin to the other. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_Gap

[@jonathanbrown6842]

Your point for Kentucky was incorrect. There is an exclave of Kentucky to the west that has a point on the Mississippi further downstream. That said, probably very little difference but it is slightly downstream.

[@TheWindriver10]

lowest to the highest in the lower 48 is in cal. ....death valley --282 ft. to mount. Whitney + 14505 ft. .......140 miles apart...one hell of a hike!

[@cobraspottedwolf8791]

Dang. You should do this for Canada and Mexico!

[@hansblitz7770]

PotOMatic. It's like an Instapot.

[@leslietaylor4458]

I thought there would be some mention of Hurricane Katrina

[@cobraspottedwolf8791]

Idaho is the one that got me.

[@malcolmt7883]

Can you do one for most flat. Is Florida flatter than Kansas?

[@geogviz]

Done - posted yesterday. Spoiler - FL is much flatter. Thank you for the suggestion!

[@ericcub78]

For West Virginia, you said pot-mac river, it's poe-toe-mac.

[@angusmackaskill3035]

Their policing?

[@ebw16256]

I live within that star of back bay Biloxi 😂. Shit floods like mad here.

[@chadb7252]

Why are the Great Lakes missing? Have they dried up?

[@Georges_IV]

Thats ts an elevation map

[@chadb7252]

@@Georges_IV There’s water shown in the ocean. Also, the elevation of the Great Lakes under water isn’t uniform as shown, so it’s far from accurate. In fact, Lake Superior is 1332 feet deep, or 732 feet below sea level, and that part of Lake Superior is in Michigan, so why wouldn’t the lowest point of Michigan be -732 feet?

[@Georges_IV]

@@chadb7252 oh, im not sure then, just a guess lol

[@aluminumfalcon552]

I’ve heard anecdotally that Iraq has had higher temperatures than the 134 degree record in Death Valley. Not sure if it’s true but this came from people who were serving in the military over there.

[@junepearl7993]

I live near the Atlantic coast of South Florida. My living room is 22 ft. above sea level. I expected to be on the list.😂

[@AwesomeSunshine]

All of them at the edge until Vermont joins the chat

[@pokor5791]

You counted a location in an Alaska lake as a low point. Doesn't that put the low point for Michigan like 449 feet below sea level in Lake Superior? It being 1050' below the surface and the surface being 601' (as shown by Minnesota). The LOWEST point in Superior is in Canada. Therefore the lowest point in the United States is actually in Michigan and not California. I am missing something here?

[@Merluch]

Ig the great lakes don't count because they are shared with canada

[@pokor5791]

@@Merluch Why? The lowest point in lake Superior is in Canada (which i did not count). I only counted the lowest point that is IN the united states. There is a border line in Superior just like on land (just no lifting gate). To me that is IN the United States. The lowest point on any continent i think is in a Russia lake as it is very deep (formed the same way as Superior).

[@Merluch]

@@pokor5791 i meant to say that the great lakes are between the us and canada, which could make it not count.

[@9Rollotomasi]

The surface of the lake in Alaska was the low point, not the lakebed.

[@roevhaal578]

You're missing that the surface of the Alaskan lake is below sea level and the great lakes are not. The lake has a very small watershed and not that much percipitation, it's not enough to overcome evaporation and create an outlet.

[@johnortmann3098]

Might want to call up somebody in Colorado and ask them how to pronounce "Arikaree."

[@billnoi]

How did this guy just pronounce the Potomac River??? 😆 🤣

[@parkerl11gaming]

Maine is ranked #22 for highest and lowest

[@ehiigel]

The Colorado low point is pronounced the a-RIK-a-ree River.

[@MountainFisher]

You stand in Death Valley at Badwater Basin and you can see the 11,043 foot Telescope Peak on a clear day. But not as impressive as looking at Mt. Rainier from near sea level.

[@andyjay729]

Death Valley and Mt. Whitney are in the same county (Inyo). There is actually a race between the two points called the Badwater Ultramarathon. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Ultramarathon

[@MountainFisher]

@@andyjay729 That's a crazy race to have in July. At least they could start at Whitney Portal instead of end there. But they do it the other way.

[@adriennegormley9358]

What's fun about CA isvthevhohg and low points are near neighbors. If you stand on the top of Whitney withbtheveind at you back,, you're within spitting distance of Death Valley.

[@sampatton146]

Ouachita is pronounced wash-a-taw. It is a Native American word written in French.

[@ronmcmartin4513]

The only one he Really mangled was the Potomac River("POT-mack")

[@shawnsnow7748]

@@ronmcmartin4513 Also, the a-RICK-a-REE River in Colo-RADD-o. So many folks say ColoRAHDO...or NeVAHDa....but it's correctly pronounced ColoRADDo and NeVADDa.

[@ronmcmartin4513]

@@shawnsnow7748 And Ora-GONE, rather than GUN. WaR-shington is just an accent, like a water color or pencil "dror-ring".

[@shawnsnow7748]

@@ronmcmartin4513 Not quite. There certainly are accents, such as if a British person is pronouncing American place names or vice versa. But then there is local pronunciation used by everyday residents. The state of Arkansas has a law that dictates the proper way to pronounce that state's name. Then there is local convention. Certainly no one would go to Detroit and tell the locals there that they are mispronouncing the city's name and that it should be "De-TWA", using the original French. Place names have local flavor. Buena Vista, CO pronounces its town name as "BYOO-na vista" for example!!

[@ronmcmartin4513]

@@shawnsnow7748--I agree. Local pronunciation should win.

[@ej_makesvideos]

Guess which state I’m in (hint: it’s Illinois)

[@IronGwaziJoseph]

How is your high point any more than 200!?

[@polyrhythmia]

The bottom of Salton Sea is within a few feet of Badwater, interestingly enough.

[@ronmcmartin4513]

And Bad water is only 90 Miles from the Highest Continental US Point, Mt Whitney.

[@jacintacolombo2480]

How is Arizona not the Grand Canyon

[@Burt1038]

the canyon is above sea level or else how would the river continue flowing into the sea...duh.

[@nathanieldavis1671]

Still love Alaska

[@keith6308]

Anyone else call the Potomac, the Pa Tome Ick. Not Po Toe Mac like he did?

[@badsnaker]

Iowa could just dig 2 feet lower and be lower than Nevada lol!

[@Headlessgenie]

LETS GO NUMBA 2

[@anonymousstudent4403]

Why aren’t caves included in this?

[@zach2382]

Because they are not low points they are underground

[@ClariNerd]

Incorrect: the real low point for NH is Franklin Pierce

[@guyorsini1044]

FWIW No part of the Ohio River is actually in Ohio.

[@mrozzymania]

continue point for 4/12/2023 1:49

[@daybird2]

Check your pronunciation of Potomac at 2:16.

[@seanmiller2912]

Patomatic. Anyways I liked the video

[@henrycollins6957]

you pronounce Potomac wrong

[@matthewdrennen1710]

I can only imagine the horror of how he might pronounce "Appalachia". :-D OMG! Kanawha! I'm from West Virginia so I've heard some atrocious shit. lol

[@dasdonut4517]

You did not just say Potomac like that.

[@petersbananabread1631]

POT MAK

[@Banana_Pony]

You said Potomac as Pat- a-mak really? lol.

[@Jjjaaahhnn]

"Massachusis" really? Lol

[@DamonNomad82]

Interesting video, but some of your pronunciations are very painful. The Kootenai River in Montana, for example, is pronounced "Koot-en-eye".

[@wildbill7267]

Umm…it’s pronounced “pa-to-mac”…..not pat-o-mac

[@dashcamtravelsusa]

Being a native West Virginian, I noticed that too, but I understand that folks who are not from the area, could make that mistake. I once mispronounced the city of Bernalillo, NM in front of a native New Mexican and he laughed at me! But to be more accurate, it's pronounced Pa-toe-mac!😉

[@applejuiceboy506]

@@dashcamtravelsusas a West Virginian my self, I’m glad to hear you and I caught on this too. But it’s okay.

[@Luingi]

It’s pronounced “Pac-Man”

[@SISKCERTWaJaVlogs]

🤓

[@applejuiceboy506]

@@SISKCERTWaJaVlogs For real lol.

[@alyssaskier2656]

POT-a-MAC is egregious. Look up pronunciations.

[@hattree]

It's pronounced Poe - Tome - ack , not Potmack

[@Bobuno22]

It’s pronounced Pa-Toe-Mac not Pata-Mac

[@dennissvitak148]

Please don't use "ambient air temperature." That's wrong. "Ambient" means "free air." So..ambient air temperature is "free air air temperature." The correct way to say this is, of course "ambient temperature." /signed retired Meteorologist (35 years experience)

[@jasonsopher5572]

The biggest low point in the usa right now is the white house

[@ChadwickTheChad]

Oops, you posted your comment almost two years late. You need a calendar for christmas!

[@or529]

California has both the lowest point & the highest point in the "Continental" United States. Death Valley & Mt. Whitney.

[@davidkavorkian4282]

Minor correction. California has both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (continental includes Alaska, which has Denali)

[@chadb7252]

Hmm, I guess Alaska isn't part of the North American continent or no longer a US state.

[@JTA1961]

​@@chadb7252 don't know...but... Alaska

[@JamesRea2]

Please learn to pronounce Potomac!

[@rah62]

Some of these pronunciations are absolutely cringeworthy. 2:16 - you've never heard the word Pah-TOE-muc used in conjunction with our nation's capital?

[@timkenyon6088]

You need to seriously work on the proper pronunciation of place names to have ANY credibility. Really.....

[@JTA1961]

Why... all of the people who live there are a bunch of lowlifes so they should be able to TALLerate mispronounciations

[@killertree900]

Actual cope moment