which cities are at the highest elevation in U.S. (legal, shop)

[BruceTenmile]

Leadville, CO I believe is the city at the highest elevation in the US. It has less than 3,000 inhabitants, but it is incorporated as a city. Winter Park, CO I think is municipality at the highest elevation. That one though is only due to the town having annexed i's ski area. I can't remember or be bothered to look up the altitudes of these places, but I'm pretty sure I'm correct.

[philobeddoe]

US cities over 3,000ft in elevation, over 25,000 population

Reno,NV ............4,505ft.....pop. 225,000

Salt Lake City,UT 4,226ft.....pop. 186,000 (metro over 1 million)

Albuquerque,NM...4,935ft.....pop. 585,000 (metro 1 million)
Las Cruces,NM.....3,896ft.....pop. 98,000
Santa Fe,NM.......7,260ft.....pop. 68,000
Roswell,NM..........3,579ft.....pop. 49,000
Farmington,NM.....5,395ft.....pop. 46,000
Alamogordo,NM.....4,335ft.....pop. 34,000
Hobbs,NM............3,609ft.....pop. 31,000
Carlsbad,NM.........3,102ft.....pop. 26,000

Denver,CO..........5,280ft.....pop. 620,000 (metro over 2 million)
Colorado Springs...6,036ft....pop. 416,000
Pueblo,CO...........4,692ft.....pop. 106,000
Boulder,CO..........5,430ft.....pop. 98,000
Grand Junction,CO 4,593ft....pop. 59,000

Flagstaff,AZ.........6,910ft.....pop. 60,000
Prescott,AZ.........5,368ft.....pop. 40,000
Kingman,AZ..........3,333ft.....pop. 28,000

El Paso,TX...........3,740ft......pop. 649,000
Lubbock,TX..........3,256ft......pop. 229,000
Amarillo,TX...........3,605ft......pop. 190,000

Rapid City,SD........3,202ft.....pop. 68,000

Billings,MT............3,123ft.....pop. 104,000
Great Falls,MT.......3,330ft.....pop. 58,000
Butte,MT..............5,538ft.....pop. 34,000

Cheyenne,WY........6,062ft......pop. 59,000
Laramie,WY...........7,165ft......pop. 31,000

[Saintmarks]

Most people east of the Mississippi will refer to all mountains rising west of the Great Plains as the Rockies. All of the mountains in the eastern range from Alabama to Maine get a generic cover-all term, the Appalachians, whether it is a specific range like the Blue Ridge, the Poconos, the Adirondacks, etc, etc.

So when someone from the east makes a comparison of something "east of the Rockies" they mean all the mountains in the western US including all mountains in New Mexico and west Texas too, whether or not that is technically correct.

So technically you can say all the Front Range cities are "east of the Rockies" but isn't that nitpicking if you can see a Rocky from said city?

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by CowanStern

OK, then, Cloudcroft, New Mexico, at 8,668 feet, which is higher than Aspen or Vail. It's in, the Capitan Mountains, a small mountain range in the plains of southeastern New Mexico, far from and unrelated to the Rocky Mountains and definitely east of the Rockes. Or the larger Ruidoso, New Mexico, nearby, with a population of 8,000, and elevation of 6,920.

Not to be picky but Cloudcroft is in the Sacremento Mtns.

[zcarmann]

Why is it that Flagstaff, AZ is listed at 6,910 and when I lived there the alitude meters read at KOA Camp Grounds on Old US Hghwy in Flagstaff read 7250 ft, is there a mistake I also lived in a house there and the Top map read 7280 ft.and that is a USGS Map ?????

[pikabike]

Leadville, CO is it.

Alma and Fairplay, both also in CO, have vied for the title, but they are even smaller than Leadville and might not be officially "cities."

[f5fstop]

Not sure why east of the MS is even noted. The highest point east of the MS is Mt. Mitchell and that is ONLY 6,684 feet.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Not sure why east of the MS is even noted. The highest point east of the MS is Mt. Mitchell and that is ONLY 6,684 feet.

Perhaps because not everyone finds size that important.

[creeksitter]

It's not the size, it's the prominence.

Boone NC at 3,300' has a population of 17,000 and a metro population of 51,000.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Not sure why east of the MS is even noted. The highest point east of the MS is Mt. Mitchell and that is ONLY 6,684 feet.

Well, considering that some east coast towns are higher than many counterparts in the west, it's certainly worth including them. Beech Mountain, NC, for example, is higher than any town in WA, OR, or AK.

For the record, there are impressive mountains in the Southern and Northern Appalachians, and I've lived in CO and live in WA, with family in MT, OR and AK. Don't dwell on the numbers- the peaks may not be as jagged or stark, but they are indeed mountains, and often pretty ones at that, some with prominence/base-to-summit heights that are respectable, even by western standards.

You really should visit some areas in the east, you may just be impressed.