Glossary of ListsList Inclusion Criteria:All Summits, Ridges, and Pillars with more than 0' rise are listed when an official USGS name exists or when unnamed features possess at least 300' possible rise. There are the following exceptions for inclusion of unnamed summits with less than 300' possible rise:1) When lists involve highest or most prominent points within political or other boundaries 2) When enduring unofficial names exist, where the names appear in print (such as guidebooks), are well-established among locals, or are visible on maps from reputable sources other than the USGS. Elevation:Elevation is listed in feet, interpolated if spot elevations are not given. Elevation is converted from meter maps to feet rounded down to the nearest foot. Why rounded down? 12,999.51' isn't an elevation that one can say belongs to a list of elevations 13,000' or higher - it is literally lower than 13,000'. DEM and altimeter measurements are not used given the variability and subjectivity involved with deriving and choosing those figures. In a comparison of exact summit locations comparing DEM data (data set produced by Tim Worth) and spot elevations of summits for over 5,000 individual peaks, the average difference between the spot elevation and DEM showed that DEM was 10.3' less than the spot elevations. What's more shocking is the standard deviation, at 22.09'. With a normal distribution, we'd expect 32% of the 5000+ peaks to vary from the spot elevation by more than 22.09'. With negative skewness of the distribution, 12% were shown to lie outside the range of 22.09', still really far from acceptable for use in determining true elevations.Name:Names are derived from the Board of Geographic Names and this source is considered "official". Names appear in quotes when not officially recognized by the Board of Geographic Names. When a name is not known to exist either official or unofficial, the elevation is used in place of the name. It should be noted that cases exist where the Board of Geographic Names data contains errors pertaining to location, spelling or feature type, and any errors we are aware of are corrected on this site.Variant Names:Additional names, such as commonly used climber's names, and variant official names. Names appear in quotes when not officially recognized by the Board of Geographic Names.Peaks Rank:Rank describes the peak's height status relative to other peaks within a state or other category, where a minumum rise is required for a summit to qualify as "ranked". For example, a rank of 1 is the highest in the category, 2 is second highest. At listsofjohn, ranked peaks require 300' minimum rise. "S" designation for rank means the summit has the potential of qualifying as a ranked peak based on interpolation, where summit and/or saddle elevations are not explicitly available from USGS quadrangle maps "S" is for "Soft Rank". Peaks with less than 300' possible rise without official names are not listed unless additional inclusion criteria are met. Summits are ranked in order of descending elevation, then descending rise, then descending isolation.Saddle:Saddle is the low point of the highest connecting ridge (highest ridge at its lowest point) to an elevation greater than the peak's maximum elevation. Elevation is listed in feet, interpolated if spot elevations are not given. Elevation is converted from meter maps to feet rounded down to the nearest foot. In cases of multiple saddle candidates not on the same connecting ridge, the saddle is determined by shortest distance to potential line parents. Obviously DEM and altimeter measurements are not used given the variability and subjectivity involved with deriving and choosing those figures.Counties:County or counties a summit belongs to. When multiple counties are in consideration (when a peak resides very near or on a county border), the peak will belong to multiple counties only if the summit location indicates the summit is literally on the county line or when a spot elevation is not available and the middle of the highest closed contour straddles the county line.Quad:Name of the USGS 7.5' quadrangle (or other smallest scale available). 7.5 Minute Quadrangle boundaries are defined using the NAD27 coordinate system in eighths of a degree.Coords:Location of summit in decimal degrees. The coordinate system displayed used and displayed is NAD83/WGS84. When spot elevations are not available and more than one closed contour is a candidate for the summit location (meaning these closed contours do not themselves already possess enough independent rise to be considered separate ranked summits), field observation takes precedent when available, followed by size of the closed contour. When a spot elevation is provided where there are competing contours, it will be used if the spot elevation is higher than the interpolated value of another contour, except in cases where other contours are dramatically smaller.Rise:Rise is a measure of summit height minus saddle height. This is synonymous with the term "prominence". Saddle and summit elevations are often interpolated.Line Parent:Line Parent is the first higher ranked peak encountered if following the crest of the highest connecting ridge away from the saddle of the peak in question. The term "line" refers to lineage, where if one were to follow a peak's highest connecting ridge to the next ranked peak and repeat this process, there is a "line" or "ancestry" in a hierarchical sense.Proximate Parent:Proximate Parent is akin to "Nearest Higher Neighbor" and is simply the closest higher ranked peak in terms of distance. There is no consideration as to the peak's belonging from a prominence perspective as in a mountain range with successively higher line parents .Isolation:Isolation is the measure of distance from the summit of the peak in question to the Proximate Parent.YDS Class:YDS (Yosemite Decimal System) class is a measure of the difficulty of a peak in terms of climbing skills required, without regard to duration of the climb or the duration of the difficulty. Here, class listed indicates the easiest ascent possible for said peak. Class 1 is walking on a trail or road. Class 2 is off-trail and may require hands for balance. Class 3 involves use of hands for upward movement. Class 4 often involves exposure and most people would use a rope if one is available. Class 5.0 - 5.5 is "easy climbing" where no special skills are required in terms of the climbing moves. A more detailed description of "mid" and "upper" fifth class can be found elsewhere online.Interpolation:Interpolation is a calculation of the mean of the maximum and minumum possible elevations within a contour interval. For example a summit on a 40' contour map with a highest contour of 8400' has elevation possibilities between 8400 and 8440' (8440 would be the next contour if one were present). The mean of these is 8420'. Sometimes field observation will reveal a higher summit candidate than maps indicate with spot elevations (when identification of the location of spot elevation is possible and can be differentiated). In these cases, interpolation may be performed to average the spot elevation and the next higher contour rather than between contours.Field Observation:Often information is not available from maps or maps are error-prone. Observations "in-the-flesh" sometimes reveal things not ascertainable otherwise. Use of handlevels or other instruments can aid in determining which of competing contours is truly the highest and in some cases contradict maps altogether.Ascent of a Peak:Arriving at the highest natural ground is required to claim an ascent of a peak. This means if a 10ft pillar of stone sits atop an otherwise flat and expansive summit, one must get atop this stone. Some feel it is sufficient to "touch the top" with a hand, while others require standing or sitting on the highest rock. Use your own judgment, but at a minimum your body should touch the highest natural surface.A peak should be counted only once per calendar date. Going over the same peak twice in a day does not constitute a new ascent of that peak, as one could revisit the same peak's summit a virtually unlimited number of times in a day unless a minimum gain is required. Minimum gain requirements are not used for a variety of reasons including subjectivity/error and the fact that many peaks do not have sufficient rise to allow a minimum gain to be possible. |