City Proximity To Mountain Peak & Prominence

[PHX31]

Many cities, mainly in the west in the US, have their building skylines but also a backdrop of a mountain skyline. In pictures, but mainly in person, the closer you are to prominent mountains, the more majestic it feels. So, what City has the best mountain backdrop? That's kind of subjective, but it can sort of be measured objectively by the looking at nearby mountain's prominence and distance from the CBD. We'll call "prominence" here the elevation difference between a city's CBD and the highest peak nearby; and also provide a measure of how far away it is (as the crow flies).

Phoenix
CBD elevation: 1,090'
Highest nearby peak: 4,512' (Sierra Estrella)
Prominence: 3,422'
Distance away: 17 miles

Tucson
CBD elevation: 2,386'
Highest nearby peak: 9,159' (Mt Lemmon)
Prominence: 6,773'
Distance away: 18.6 miles

Salt Lake City
CBD elevation: 4,300'
Highest nearby peak: 11,461' (Twin Peaks)
Prominence: 7,161'
Distance away: 19.2 miles

Palm Springs
CBD elevation: 454'
Highest nearby peak: 10,834' (Mt San Jacinto)
Prominence: 10,380'
Distance away: 7.7 miles

Las Vegas
CBD elevation: 2,020'
Highest nearby peak: 11,916' (Mt Charleston)
Prominence: 9,896'
Distance away: 31.4 miles

I hadn't been in the Palm Springs area (driving through) in quite a while until recently, but I forgot how tall the mountains were nearby. They felt massive.

[AaronPGH]

Salt Lake City hands down for the US. Nothing can come anywhere close to the drama of SLC's surroundings.

[iheartthed]

I'm guessing Chicago has the farthest peak lol. How tall does the hill need to be to considered a peak?

[The North One]

Salt Lake City probably has the best one since it's right there.

Comes with a price though, that layer of smog in the valley is horrible. Especially in the winter.

[TWAK]

Mount Saint Helena for the North Bay, Mount Diablo for the East Bay and Mount Hamilton for the South Bay.
There's no West Bay, but lets say that would be Mount Davidson or the Farallon islands.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by PHX31

Many cities, mainly in the west in the US, have their building skylines but also a backdrop of a mountain skyline. In pictures, but mainly in person, the closer you are to prominent mountains, the more majestic it feels. So, what City has the best mountain backdrop? That's kind of subjective, but it can sort of be measured objectively by the looking at nearby mountain's prominence and distance from the CBD. We'll call "prominence" here the elevation difference between a city's CBD and the highest peak nearby; and also provide a measure of how far away it is (as the crow flies).

Phoenix
CBD elevation: 1,090'
Highest nearby peak: 4,512' (Sierra Estrella)
Prominence: 3,422'
Distance away: 17 miles

Tucson
CBD elevation: 2,386'
Highest nearby peak: 9,159' (Mt Lemmon)
Prominence: 6,773'
Distance away: 18.6 miles

Salt Lake City
CBD elevation: 4,300'
Highest nearby peak: 11,461' (Twin Peaks)
Prominence: 7,161'
Distance away: 19.2 miles

Palm Springs
CBD elevation: 454'
Highest nearby peak: 10,834' (Mt San Jacinto)
Prominence: 10,380'
Distance away: 7.7 miles

Las Vegas
CBD elevation: 2,020'
Highest nearby peak: 11,916' (Mt Charleston)
Prominence: 9,896'
Distance away: 31.4 miles

Los Angeles
CBD elevation: 305'
Highest nearby peak: 10,064' (Mt. San Antonio, a.k.a. "Mt. Baldy")
Prominence: 6,224'
Distance away: 34.3 miles

[edale]

I think SLC wins this. It's basically ringed by mountains, and they're tall and snow covered basically 2/3 of the year. And while downtown SLC is 19 miles from the tallest peak, there are countless 10,000+ ft mountains in the area that are much closer to the city. The state capital building is basically at the base of 10,000 ft mountain.

Palm Springs also has a very dramatic mountain setting. And they're strange, almost otherworldly type of mountains. They're incredibly steep, and mostly devoid of vegetation on the desert fronting side at least. Palm Springs also goes right up to the base of the mountains. Scenes like this are pretty beautiful and unique.

LA's mountainous backdrop is also pretty special, I think. The view out of Dodger Stadium of the San Gabriel's is gorgeous.

[Boisebro]

SLC has the most dramatic in the states. Vancouver, BC would win for Canada.

here are a couple of smaller cities. I like Colorado Springs backdrop with Pikes Peak looming nearby:

Colorado Springs
CBD elevation: 6,035'
Highest nearby peak: 14,115' (Pikes Peak)
Prominence: 8,080'
Distance away: 5 miles


source


Boise
CBD elevation: 2,750'
Highest nearby peak: 7,582' (Shaffer Butte)
Prominence: 4,832'
Distance away: 12.3 miles


source

[ChiSoxRox]

If we're going by peaks visible from the city center, Denali (20,310', the summit of North America) is visible on clear days from Anchorage.

But even using mountains nearby, the Chugach Range is a gorgeous backdrop to Anchorage, with the Talkeetnas to the north, the Kenai Range to the south, and the Aleutian volcanoes looming to the west.

Chugach Mountains immediately east of the city:


Talkeetnas to the north:


Again, those are two completely different directions!

And on a clear day, this happens:


Foraker to the left, Denali to the right.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Boisebro

Boise
CBD elevation: 2,750'
Highest nearby peak: 7,582' (Shaffer Butte+
Prominence: 4,832'
Distance away: 12.3 miles

.
I would have never guessed Boise's CBD is that low in elevation. I also was just looking at Albuquerque and it's at 5,000', nearly as high as Denver. I just never specifically looked and would have guessed these two were switched.

[Wigs]

Can you guys add Albuquerque to the list

[craigs]

I should mention that "prominence" isn't merely the difference between a mountain's peak and a city's CBD elevation. Rather, prominence is the measure of a peak's relative height or independence from the surrounding terrain.

Thus, Arizona's Sierra Estrella has a prominence of 2,235', Utah's Twin Peaks has a prominence of 3,648', Nevada's Mt. Charleston has a prominence of 8,241', etc.

Originally Posted by PHX31

Many cities, mainly in the west in the US, have their building skylines but also a backdrop of a mountain skyline. In pictures, but mainly in person, the closer you are to prominent mountains, the more majestic it feels. So, what City has the best mountain backdrop? That's kind of subjective, but it can sort of be measured objectively by the looking at nearby mountain's prominence and distance from the CBD. We'll call "prominence" here the elevation difference between a city's CBD and the highest peak nearby; and also provide a measure of how far away it is (as the crow flies).

Phoenix
CBD elevation: 1,090'
Highest nearby peak: 4,512' (Sierra Estrella)
Prominence: 3,422'
Distance away: 17 miles

Tucson
CBD elevation: 2,386'
Highest nearby peak: 9,159' (Mt Lemmon)
Prominence: 6,773'
Distance away: 18.6 miles

Salt Lake City
CBD elevation: 4,300'
Highest nearby peak: 11,461' (Twin Peaks)
Prominence: 7,161'
Distance away: 19.2 miles

Palm Springs
CBD elevation: 454'
Highest nearby peak: 10,834' (Mt San Jacinto)
Prominence: 10,380'
Distance away: 7.7 miles

Las Vegas
CBD elevation: 2,020'
Highest nearby peak: 11,916' (Mt Charleston)
Prominence: 9,896'
Distance away: 31.4 miles

I hadn't been in the Palm Springs area (driving through) in quite a while until recently, but I forgot how tall the mountains were nearby. They felt massive.

[jbermingham123]

I think Seattle, despite not being as close to the mountains as SLC, wins out over SLC by far when considering the elevation difference and dramatic-ness of the landscape. Anchorage is the overall winner.

Seattle:
City elevation: 0
Highest nearby peak: 14,411' (Mt. Rainier)
Prominence: 13,246' (highest in contiguous US)
Distance from CBD: 57 miles

Then, in addition to Rainier, Seattle is closer to the Olympics (7000' of prominence), and the Cascades (10k ft of prominence) than to Rainier. Rainier, amazingly, still dominates them because of how tall it is.

Rainier:


Cascades:


Olympics:


And I say this as someone who grew up in the rockies (in Montana), and has spent a lot of time in Denver and SLC. The rockies are impressive, but there is something other-worldly about being at sea level and seeing 10,000 ft. mountains only 30 miles away, and 7,000 ft. mountains in the other direction, also only 30 miles away. And Rainier is an absolute mindfuck.

[ThatDarnSacramentan]

Who can forget Portland with multiple snowcapped volcanoes visible on clear days?

Downtown - Mt. Hood: 49 miles
Downtown - Mt. St. Helens: 53 miles
Downtown - Mt. Jefferson: 72 miles
Downtown - Mt. Adams: 74 miles

Hood, St. Helens, and Adams are the easy ones to spot, especially if you're up in the hills or Council Crest. Jefferson can be tougher since it's to the southeast, but here's a view where it's just sneaking above the Cascades.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by craigs

I should mention that "prominence" isn't merely the difference between a mountain's peak and a city's CBD elevation. Rather, prominence is the measure of a peak's relative height or independence from the surrounding terrain.

Yeah. This exercise was basically how much taller is the nearest peak (and there are multiple peaks in some cases) than the general City and how close is it.

[BnaBreaker]

In my mind, Seattle and Salt Lake win it easily for the contiguous states, but if we're counting Alaska, in my opinion I think Anchorage wins it hands down, and I don't think it's even particularly close to be honest.

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I'm guessing Chicago has the farthest peak lol. How tall does the hill need to be to considered a peak?

The highest point in Illinois is the oh so majestic Charles Mound:



On a clear day, if you go to the roof of Willis Tower, and then take a helicopter ten thousand feet above that, you might be able to see it in the distance. Maybe. But probably not.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

In my mind, Seattle and Salt Lake win it easily for the contiguous states, but if we're counting Alaska, in my opinion I think Anchorage wins it hands down, and I don't think it's even particularly close to be honest.

For practical purposes, Salt lake probably wins over seattle, despite seattle winning on raw prominence... because the wasatch front is truly *right next* to SLC, and because seattle is, uh, well lets say not known for clear skies

[JManc]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxRox

If we're going by peaks visible from the city center, Denali (20,310', the summit of North America) is visible on clear days from Anchorage.

But even using mountains nearby, the Chugach Range is a gorgeous backdrop to Anchorage, with the Talkeetnas to the north, the Kenai Range to the south, and the Aleutian volcanoes looming to the west.

Chugach Mountains immediately east of the city:


Talkeetnas to the north:


Again, those are two completely different directions!

And on a clear day, this happens:


Foraker to the left, Denali to the right.

I'll be there next week. The drive down Turnagain Arm is absolutely breathtaking.

[edale]

For some reason, seeing Mt. Ranier lording over Seattle freaks me out. It looks so ominous. If it ever has a Mt. St. Helens type of eruption, Seattle is fucked!