California Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of California, shaded from 280 ft below sea level on the southeast side to 14,505 ft on Mount Whitney
Elevation
14,500 ft 4,420 m10,810 ft 3,295 m8,960 ft 2,730 m5,260 ft 1,605 m1,570 ft 480 m−280 ft −85 m
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USGS 3DEP · U.S. Census Bureau
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How to use this mapviews, tools and data
Elevation
Ground colored by height from green (lowest) to white (highest), with contour lines every 40–500 ft (USGS data).
Satellite
A 2016 satellite photo at 33 ft (10 m) detail; contours off.
3D
Tilt and turn the terrain; hills are raised 1.5×, or set ×1 for true height.
Click or tap anywhere
The exact elevation of that spot in ft and m.
Measure
Pick two points for the climb, descent and grade along a straight line.
State area
Fades everything outside the official state boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

California averages about 2,820 ft (860 m) above sea level across all its land. Its ground runs from 280 ft below sea level on the southeast side to 14,505 ft on Mount Whitney.

Average elevation
2,820 ft 860 m
all land in California
Highest
14,505 ft 4,421 m
on Mount Whitney
Lowest
−280 ft −85 m
on the southeast side

California spans about 14,780 ft of height, so no single spot tells the whole story. The ruler shows where most of its land lies, and where the other numbers you'll see come from.

FigureElevation
Average of all land2,820 ft860 m
Highest point
In California, on Mount Whitney (NGS survey height)
14,505 ft4,421 m
Lowest point
In California, on the southeast side
−280 ft−85 m

Elevation profile, south to north

308 mi south to north through Los Angeles.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of California, shaded from 280 ft below sea level on the southeast side to 14,505 ft on Mount Whitney
State boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 1,000 ft (305 m).
Location
State in the Pacific division of the West region, United States
Population
39,431,263 2024 est.
Land area
155,860.4 sq mi + 7,833.4 sq mi water
Density
253 per sq mi
Counties
57
Time zone
Pacific UTC−8 / −7
Landform regions
Pacific Border 47%, Basin and Range 31%, Cascade-sierra Mountains 20%
Drains to
Pacific Ocean 48%, Closed basin (does not reach the sea) 19%
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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Neighboring states sharing a border, by average

  1. Nevada5,540 ft
  2. Arizona4,220 ft
  3. Oregon3,540 ft
  4. California2,820 ft

Rankings by average elevation

  • States in the United States11th highest of 52

Peaks and hills highest inside

  • Mount Whitney14,505 ft
  • Mount Williamson14,350 ft
  • White Mountain Peak14,252 ft
  • North Palisade14,180 ft
  • Mount Shasta14,130 ft
All 57 counties by average elevation
  1. Mono County7,800 ft
  2. Alpine County7,760 ft
  3. Sierra County5,730 ft
  4. Tuolumne County5,640 ft
  5. Lassen County5,390 ft
  6. Plumas County5,330 ft
  7. Modoc County5,000 ft
  8. Tulare County4,290 ft
  9. Siskiyou County4,260 ft
  10. Inyo County4,160 ft
  11. El Dorado County4,140 ft
  12. Nevada County4,080 ft
  13. Trinity County3,810 ft
  14. Placer County3,650 ft
  15. Mariposa County3,620 ft
  16. Fresno County3,320 ft
  17. Madera County3,070 ft
  18. Shasta County3,060 ft
  19. Amador County2,670 ft
  20. San Bernardino County2,660 ft
  21. Ventura County2,650 ft
  22. Calaveras County2,410 ft
  23. Lake County2,410 ft
  24. Kern County2,390 ft
  25. Los Angeles County2,250 ft
  26. Tehama County2,150 ft
  27. Del Norte County2,150 ft
  28. San Diego County1,970 ft
  29. San Benito County1,920 ft
  30. Riverside County1,860 ft
  31. Santa Barbara County1,800 ft
  32. Mendocino County1,790 ft
  33. Humboldt County1,730 ft
  34. Butte County1,560 ft
  35. San Luis Obispo County1,530 ft
  36. Monterey County1,440 ft
  37. Glenn County1,330 ft
  38. Santa Clara County1,250 ft
  39. Yuba County1,040 ft
  40. Napa County960 ft
  41. Santa Cruz County880 ft
  42. Alameda County840 ft
  43. Colusa County800 ft
  44. Sonoma County730 ft
  45. Orange County700 ft
  46. San Mateo County610 ft
  47. Stanislaus County520 ft
  48. Contra Costa County500 ft
  49. Marin County430 ft
  50. Imperial County410 ft
  51. Merced County390 ft
  52. Kings County380 ft
  53. Yolo County360 ft
  54. Solano County180 ft
  55. San Joaquin County170 ft
  56. Sacramento County98 ft
  57. Sutter County80 ft
All 104 tribal lands by average elevation
  1. Bridgeport Reservation6,410 ft
  2. Benton Paiute Reservation5,720 ft
  3. Woodfords Community5,700 ft
  4. Fort Bidwell Reservation5,690 ft
  5. Ewiiaapaayp Reservation5,360 ft
  6. Santa Rosa Reservation5,130 ft
  7. Los Coyotes Reservation4,930 ft
  8. Ramona Village4,760 ft
  9. Cedarville Rancheria4,720 ft
  10. Likely Rancheria4,680 ft
  11. XL Ranch Rancheria4,650 ft
  12. Susanville Indian Rancheria4,530 ft
  13. Alturas Indian Rancheria4,370 ft
  14. Manzanita Reservation4,330 ft
  15. Bishop Reservation4,230 ft
  16. Lookout Rancheria4,160 ft
  17. Fort Independence Reservation4,020 ft
  18. Big Pine Reservation3,990 ft
  19. Pauma and Yuima Reservation3,950 ft
  20. La Posta Indian Reservation3,930 ft
  21. Tule River Reservation3,890 ft
  22. Santa Ysabel Reservation3,870 ft
  23. Cahuilla Reservation3,870 ft
  24. Campo Indian Reservation3,730 ft
  25. Lone Pine Reservation3,710 ft
  26. Inaja and Cosmit Reservation3,660 ft
  27. Greenville Rancheria3,620 ft
  28. Morongo Reservation3,110 ft
  29. Pit River Trust Land3,050 ft
  30. Tuolumne Rancheria2,800 ft
  31. Quartz Valley Reservation2,790 ft
  32. Mesa Grande Reservation2,760 ft
  33. La Jolla Reservation2,670 ft
  34. Big Sandy Rancheria2,550 ft
  35. Viejas Reservation2,450 ft
  36. Montgomery Creek Rancheria2,410 ft
  37. Round Valley Reservation2,130 ft
  38. Hoopa Valley Reservation2,040 ft
  39. Picayune Rancheria2,010 ft
  40. Soboba Reservation2,000 ft
  41. Sherwood Valley Rancheria1,990 ft
  42. Agua Caliente Indian Reservation1,920 ft
  43. San Manuel Reservation1,910 ft
  44. Roaring Creek Rancheria1,890 ft
  45. Hopland Rancheria1,880 ft
  46. Capitan Grande Reservation1,860 ft
  47. San Pasqual Reservation1,760 ft
  48. Big Bend Rancheria1,740 ft
  49. Laytonville Rancheria1,710 ft
  50. Jackson Rancheria1,690 ft
  51. Upper Lake Rancheria1,640 ft
  52. Barona Reservation1,610 ft
  53. Karuk Reservation1,580 ft
  54. Pechanga Reservation1,560 ft
  55. Cold Springs Rancheria1,550 ft
  56. Chicken Ranch Rancheria1,470 ft
  57. Robinson Rancheria1,470 ft
  58. Shingle Springs Rancheria1,420 ft
  59. Sulphur Bank Rancheria1,340 ft
  60. Big Valley Rancheria1,330 ft
  61. Rincon Reservation1,290 ft
  62. Pala Reservation1,230 ft
  63. Redwood Valley Rancheria1,230 ft
  64. Middletown Rancheria1,230 ft
  65. North Fork Rancheria1,180 ft
  66. Cortina Indian Rancheria1,130 ft
  67. Jamul Indian Village940 ft
  68. Ione Band of Miwok TDSA910 ft
  69. Table Mountain Rancheria870 ft
  70. Guidiville Rancheria820 ft
  71. Enterprise Rancheria790 ft
  72. Stewarts Point Rancheria780 ft
  73. Yurok Reservation770 ft
  74. Coyote Valley Reservation720 ft
  75. Berry Creek Rancheria710 ft
  76. Chemehuevi Reservation700 ft
  77. Sycuan Reservation700 ft
  78. Pinoleville Rancheria640 ft
  79. Grindstone Indian Rancheria630 ft
  80. Santa Ynez Reservation530 ft
  81. Redding Rancheria460 ft
  82. Dry Creek Rancheria430 ft
  83. Twenty-Nine Palms Reservation410 ft
  84. Rumsey Indian Rancheria350 ft
  85. Paskenta Rancheria300 ft
  86. Mooretown Rancheria300 ft
  87. Fort Yuma Indian Reservation270 ft
  88. Rohnerville (Rancheria) Trust Land250 ft
  89. Auburn Rancheria240 ft
  90. Mechoopda TDSA230 ft
  91. Santa Rosa Rancheria200 ft
  92. Trinidad Rancheria190 ft
  93. Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria140 ft
  94. Table Bluff Reservation110 ft
  95. Lytton Rancheria98 ft
  96. Smith River Rancheria95 ft
  97. Elk Valley Rancheria86 ft
  98. Blue Lake Rancheria75 ft
  99. Colusa Rancheria62 ft
  100. Resighini Rancheria32 ft
  101. Big Lagoon Rancheria22 ft
  102. Torres-Martinez Reservation−36 ft
  103. Augustine Reservation−82 ft
  104. Cabazon Reservation−89 ft
How we measure
  • Average: every USGS 3DEP bare-earth cell of land inside the Census state boundary (TIGER/Line, Jan 1 2026), weighted equally, on a 13 arc-second (≈1,320 ft, 401 m) grid, coarsened from 1 arc-second so the whole area fits one run. Land means the boundary minus Census area water (on this grid, water areas of at least half a cell).
  • Highest and lowest: the highest land cell, re-read at 1 arc-second around the 25 highest grid cells; it is a named summit, so its height is the peak method: the 3DEP top on a ~7 ft (2 m) window, or the NGS published height when a survey mark sits within 160 ft (50 m) of it. Lowest: the lowest land cell, re-read at 1 arc-second around the 25 lowest grid cells; coastal ground within 3 ft (1 m) of named tidal water counts as sea level.
  • Nearby Places: neighboring states and rankings use each one's average elevation, on its own grid, the same figure its page shows. Peaks and hills: the highest summits inside the state with at least 980 ft (300 m) of prominence, then the highest federal (GNIS) summits inside it when there are fewer than 5; each is the 3DEP top on a ~7 ft (2 m) window, or the NGS published height when a usable survey mark sits within 160 ft (50 m) of it (shown as published).
  • Counties: each one's average on its own grid (1 arc-second, coarser for the largest), the same figure its own page shows.
  • Rounding: computed heights are rounded to 10 ft (5 m), or to 1 ft (1 m) under 100 ft; 3DEP is good to about a meter, not a foot. Published figures (NGS survey heights) are shown as their publisher gives them.
  • Datum: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). NGS plans to replace NAVD 88 with a new datum (NAPGD2022); heights will then shift slightly.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (TIGER boundaries and water, 2020 blocks, 2024 population estimates, county adjacency); NOAA NGS survey heights; BTS time zones. All public domain.