There is a sport called highpointing, where people seek to reach the locations of the high points of every state in the United States. As might be imagined, some of these highest points, like Britton Hill in Florida, are not very high, and no rigorous climbing work is required to reach these heights. Other peaks, though, like Mount Hood, just east of Portland, or Mount Rainier in Washington, or Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) in Alaska, are much more difficult climbs requiring more skill than this unpracticed mountain climber possesses. As I was pondering over the rigors of highpointing, I wondered if anyone had created a sport, or at least an activity, for lowpointing, since the lowest point of every state is as noteworthy a matter as the highest point, if a little less glamorous and a lot less difficult to manage. So, if lowpointing is not a concept yet, it is time to bring it to the attention of at least someone, given that I am far more experienced at dealing with low points than I am at dealing with high points.

As might be expected, most of the low points for various states are bodies of water [1]. Here are the lowest points in all 50 states for the leisure sport of lowpointing:

Alabama: Gulf of Mexico
Alaska: Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean
Arizona: Colorado River at Sonora border in San Luis, Arizona
Arkansas: Ouachita River at Louisiana border
California: Badwater Basin in Death Valley
Colorado: Arikaree River at Kansas border
Connecticut: Long Island Sound
Delaware: Atlantic Ocean
District of Columbia: Potomac River at Maryland border to the east
Florida: Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico
Georgia: Atlantic Ocean
Hawaii: Pacific Ocean
Idaho: Junction of Snake and Clearwater Rivers
Illinois: Junction of Mississippi and Ohio Rivers
Indiana: Junction of Ohio and Wabash Rivers
Iowa: Junction of Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers
Kansas: Verdigris River at Oklahoma border
Kentucky: Mississippi River at Kentucky Bend
Louisiana: New Orleans
Maine: Atlantic Ocean
Maryland: Atlantic Ocean
Massachusetts: Atlantic Ocean
Michigan: Lake Erie
Minnesota: Lake Superior
Mississippi: Gulf of Mexico
Missouri: Saint Francis River at southern Arkansas border
Montana: Kootenai River at Idaho border
Nebraska: Missouri River at Kansas border
Nevada: Colorado River at California border
New Hampshire: Atlantic Ocean
New Jersey: Atlantic Ocean
New Mexico: Red Bluff Reservoir on Texas border
New York: Atlantic Ocean
North Carolina: Atlantic Ocean
North Dakota: Red River of the North at Manitoba border
Ohio: Ohio River at Indiana border
Oklahoma: Little River at Arkansas border
Oregon: Pacific Ocean
Pennsylvania: Delaware River at Delaware border
Rhode Island: Atlantic Ocean
South Carolina: Atlantic Ocean
South Dakota: Big Stone Lake on Minnesota border
Tennessee: Mississippi River at Mississippi border
Texas: Gulf of Mexico
Utah: Beaver Dam Wash at Arizona border
Vermont: Lake Champlain
Virginia: Atlantic Ocean
Washington: Pacific Ocean
West Virginia: Potomac River at Virginia border
Wisconsin: Lake Michigan
Wyoming: Belle Fourche River at South Dakota border

What can one gather from this data? For one, to make the sport of lowpointing more of a challenge, even as a leisure sport, perhaps one could go to all of the borders where a lowest point is found. For example, to gain credit for reaching the lowest point of Florida, one would need to go to both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of Florida, and maybe a point along the Straits of Florida (alongside the keys) for good measure. For Alaska, one would have to go to a point adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, Bering Strait, and Arctic Ocean. Even though this is not nearly as hard as climbing Denali, it is still a challenge to reach these points, and thus it would still be a worthwhile experience. This sort of experience would be enjoyable for those who are particularly fond of oceans, rivers, and lakes, as these are the places where low points are found. Those who are drawn to water, whether because of fishing or because of a fondness for blue, would find this an enjoyable activity that would encourage such travel, even if there are far more points where one can do lowpointing than high pointing, with the exception of those states where a particular point of connection is found between two rivers or a river or lake and a state line (or, in the case of Arizona, at the international boundary with Mexico’s Sonora state).

While it is possible that there would be lowpointer conventions, it is more likely that lowpointing could be connected with at least a few other interests. For one, lowpointing would be an easy activity to connect with those who are particularly interested and concerned about the state of our waters, whether rivers, lakes, or oceans. Trips to the lowest points of every state could be connected to such concerns as potable water supply, the effect of dams, concerns about water scarcity or quality, or even concerns about an increase in sea level, which would be disastrous for several states (most notably Florida and Delware and the rest of the Gulf and Atlantic and Pacific seaboards to a lesser extent). Additionally, trips to the lowest point could easily be combined with opportunities for nature photography or art if one finds a particularly lovely part of a coast or lakeside that would be appreciated by a larger audience. Without requiring strenuous travel, except perhaps to travel to the far north of Alaska, this is a form of adventure tourism that is as focused on the waters as highpointing is focused on mountains and hills. Let us therefore give low points their due, and give at least some attention to lowpointing.

[1] See, for example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_elevation