Whitney, Mount

Whitney, Mount, peak, 14,494 ft (4,418 m) high, E Calif., in the Sierra Nevada at the eastern border of Sequoia National Park; the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states (Mt. McKinley, Alaska, is the highest peak in the United States). It is connected by a scenic highway with Death Valley. The peak is named for U.S. geologist Josiah D. Whitney, who surveyed it in 1864.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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