Fourteener

In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14000 ft. The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single state; Alaska is second  with 29. Many peak baggers try to climb all fourteeners in the contiguous United States, one particular state, or another region.

Qualification criteria
The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways:
 * 1) Topographic elevation is the height of the summit above a geodetic sea level.
 * 2) Topographic prominence is how high the summit rises above its surroundings.
 * 3) Topographic isolation (or radius of dominance) is how far the summit lies from its nearest point of equal elevation.

Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners. Summits that qualify are those considered by mountaineers to be independent. Objective standards for independence include topographic prominence and isolation (distance from a higher summit), or a combination of the two. However, fourteener lists do not always use such objective rules consistently.

A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 ft of prominence to qualify. By this rule, Colorado has 53 fourteeners, California has 12, and Washington has 2.

According to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, the standard in Alaska uses a 500 ft prominence rule rather than a 300 ft rule. By this rule, Alaska has at least 21 peaks over 14000 ft and its 12 highest peaks exceed 15000 ft.

Fourteeners
The following table lists the 96 mountain peaks of the United States with at least 14000 ft of topographic elevation and at least 300 ft of topographic prominence]. Of these, 53 rise in Colorado, 29 in Alaska, 12 in California, and 2 in Washington (Liberty Cap is part of the crater atop Mt Rainier). The 22 highest fourteeners all rise in Alaska.

Topographic prominence
The table above uses a minimum topographic prominence criterion of 300 ft and includes 96 peaks. The number of peaks included depends upon the minimum topographic prominence criterion. A criterion of 100 m includes 90 peaks, 500 ft includes 77 peaks, 1000 ft includes 63 peaks, and 500 m includes 46 peaks.

The following U.S. summits have 14,000 ft of elevation, but have less than 300 ft of topographic prominence:
 * Denali, Browne Tower, 14,530, Alaska: Prominence = 25 - 125 ft. Why this became included on some fourteener lists is unclear.
 * Mount Cameron, 14,238, Colorado: Prominence = 118 feet.
 * El Diente Peak, 14,159, Colorado: Prominence = 239 feet. On many fourteener lists.
 * Point Success, 14,158, Washington: Prominence = 118 feet.
 * Polemonium Peak, 14,080+, California: Prominence = 160–240 feet.
 * Starlight Peak, 14,080, California: Prominence = 80–160 feet.
 * North Conundrum Peak, 14,040+, Colorado: Prominence = 200–280 feet.
 * North Eolus, 14,039, Colorado: Prominence = 159–199 feet.
 * North Maroon Peak, 14,014, Colorado: Prominence = 234 feet. On many fourteener lists.
 * Thunderbolt Peak, 14,003, California: Prominence = 223 feet.
 * Sunlight Spire, 14,001, Colorado: Prominence = 195–235 feet.