What state would you regard as the "most mountainous"? (college, living in)

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by Drover

That would be Nevada. Speaking of which, where's Nevada in the options?

I've heard this once before from a Neveda state official. But that is the only time that I've heard it. Ever since i've tried to wrap my head around that....Is it really the most mountainous? I could believe it sort of.. I know it has mountains like those that surround Reno and Vegas, but it's not the first state you think of when you think of mountains.

[ABQConvict]

West Virginia.

In Colorado and Nevada, there are vast areas of plains. That said, the mountainous areas of both states are impressive.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

I've heard this once before from a Neveda state official. But that is the only time that I've heard it. Ever since i've tried to wrap my head around that....Is it really the most mountainous? I could believe it sort of.. I know it has mountains like those that surround Reno and Vegas, but it's not the first state you think of when you think of mountains.

Those mountains that surround Reno and Vegas? That's what the vast majority of Nevada looks like.

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

West Virginia.

In Colorado and Nevada, there are vast areas of plains. That said, the mountainous areas of both states are impressive.

Where are these "vast areas of plains" in Nevada? Much of eastern Colorado is indeed pretty flat. While there are some flat valleys between the mountain ranges, Nevada has no equivalent to the flat plains of eastern Colorado.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

Isn't Alaska just about all mountains?

Nope. Even with all those high mountains the mean elevation of Alaska is 1900'. For comparison, the mean elevation of Kansas is 2000'.

[nei]

How about Hawaii? Using spire measure (how much up and down there is a short distance):

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...ns/topics/1429

Hawaii wins, followed by Washington. So I picked Washington. Hawaii's spire measure is almost as high as the Colorado Rockies.

[ChiTownWonder]

I would have said Wyoming.

[bartonizer]

I would agree that West Virginia is the most mountainous, overall. Even the areas that aren't technically near mountains have ridges all over the place and little in the way of any flat ground. Just go to Google Maps, click on Terrain and start zooming in.... Some people may argue that a lot of what you're looking at aren't technically mountains, and it's all relative. We could argue over what truly constitutes a mountain. But anyone that's had to traverse the state can tell you that there are very few straight roads and that hilly terrain covers nearly every square inch of the state.

Regarding the other states, Nevada has a ton of isolated mountains and a ton of flat valleys and open spaces, typical of the Basin and Range region. The drive on US 50 across the state goes up and over 17 mountain passes, which is amazing. But again, plenty of vast, open flat land.

Colorado: Great variance in topography, on the western side of the state. Unavoidable mountain ranges, giant landforms, huge canyons, etc. but the eastern side of the state takes it out of the running on this competition.

Finally, Alaska. It always seems to be left out of this type of thread. The mountain ranges are amazing and numerous throughout the state. And most of the major population centers are near or within sight of jagged peaks or at least hilly terrain. But the state is huge, and there are plenty of giant flatlands, as well. Some of the smaller ones that come to mind personally are the western side of the Kenai Peninsula and the area between the Alaska Range and Fairbanks, but looking at a topo map, there are massive lowlands in the west/SW region and above the Arctic Circle that are the size of many states....

[Vatnos]

To me 'most mountainous' is a mix of the largest percent coverage of mountains and the height and ruggedness of those mountains. Maybe also sheer area covered by mountains.

Hawaii wins obviously, it's nothing but volcanic islands.

I would guess Idaho next.

Then maybe Nevada? Then a handful of other western states. Then West Virginia and Vermont. New Hampshire, then a handful of other eastern states.

[Vatnos]

Originally Posted by WildWestDude

Isn't Alaska just about all mountains?

Alaska is huge. It has a lot of mountains, and its mountains are the tallest by far. But it also has flat ares the size of California in it.

[JayJayCB]

West Virginia, although the mountains are pretty short and stumpy. Most people would think Colorado, but eastern Colorado is like Kansas.