Colorado’s Lowest Point Compared To Its Highest Point

Colorado has it going on when it comes to the highest and lowest points in the state. Even when we're low, we're high. Check out the lowest and highest points in the Centennial State.

Put simply, even when we're at our lowest, we're still higher than the highest points in most states. At its highest, Colorado has one of the tallest mountains in the nation. Check out our highs and lows, and look at the comparison between them.

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The Lowest Point In Colorado

The lowest point in Colorado can be found right on the Kansas state line, and not far from the Nebraska border. Make your way to Yuma County in the northeast corner of the state, and you'll find the point where the Arikaree River crosses the Colorado/Kansas border.

The Arikaree River

According to Out There Colorado, the Arikaree River runs 156 miles through Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, ultimately depositing into the Republican River.

The website Trekking Colorado adds the point where the Arikaree River crosses the Kansas state line is the lowest point in Colorado at an elevation of 3,317 feet.

The Distinction of Colorado's Low Point

At 3,317 feet, Colorado's "low point" is the highest low point in the United States. On top of that, Colorado's low point is higher than the highest points of 18 other states and Washington D.C.

Colorado's Highest Point

Colorado is certainly no slouch when it comes to high mountain peaks. The state is home to 58 fourteeners, and more than 600 thirteeners.

The website AZ Animals reports the highest point in the state of Colorado is Mt. Elbert, measuring 14,400 feet. In addition to the highest point in Colorado, Mt. Elbert is also the highest point in the Rocky Mountains, and the second highest peak in the contiguous United States, second only to California's Mount Whitney.

Mt. Elbert is located in the San Isabel National Forest, just over 12 miles from the city of Leadville.

The Difference Between These Two Points

If you crunch the numbers, you'll find that the high point of 14,400 feet minus the low point of 3,317 feet leaves us with a total of 11,083 feet or 2.09 miles. To put that into perspective, the difference between these two points is equal to 83% of the total distance of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.