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Mountain Prominence Lists What is prominence? As defined below, prominence is an alternate way of measuring mountains rather than the elevation above sea level, the most common measurement. The most prominent peaks are then generally the highest freestanding mountains that have a noticeable separation between them and nearby higher peaks. In a mountain range that runs for many miles the most prominent peak will be the highest point in the range. How is Prominence Defined? It is the elevation difference between a peak and the lowest contour that encircles it and no higher summit. Prominence is the maximum "shoulder drop" a peak has. It is easiest to visualize by thinking of an island. Here the most prominent peak is obviously the highest point on the island and the prominence value is the peak height above sea level. Research for the California lists presented here were done by Andy Martin, Edward Earl and Aaron Maizlish over a period of several years. In addition to looking at a lot of maps Edward Earl has devised a computerized method of searching the USGS Digital Elevation Models which greatly speeds up the search. I have added additional data to the lists such as UTM cooordinates, township data and benchmark information. Additional Information: Andy Martin publishes a book on U.S. County Highpoints that also lists the 50 most prominent peaks for the western states. Contact him at: oldadit@iname.com California Prominence Lists, 201 peaks, ranked down to about 1850 feet. Primary List, UTM/Township List, Alphabetical List, Benchmark List. Death Valley National Park Peaks List, 113 peaks, Prominence values listed. NEW Primary List, Benchmark List, Range and Township List, GPS Waypoint File San Diego County Prominence List, 41 peaks, ranked down to 1000 feet Britsh Isles Prominence Lists England - 50 Prominent Peaks, GPS Waypoint File Scotland - 51 Prominent Peaks, GPS Waypoint File Wales - 50 Prominent Peaks, GPS Waypoint File |
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