Most Impressive Landforms in Each U.S. State
The impressiveness of mountains and other landforms is inherently subjective. Regardless, two factors that universally contribute to the perceived impressiveness of a landform are its height and steepness. Height is a significant factor in defining impressiveness, but it’s not the only factor. For example, even though Mt. Elbert in Colorado (elevation: 4,399 meters or 14,432 ft) has a higher elevation than Grand Teton in Wyoming (elevation: 4199 meters or 13,776 ft), mountaineers can attest to Grand Teton looking considerably more impressive, as it rises much more steeply over the local landscape.
Kai Xu created jut, a measure of the impressiveness of a mountain that accounts for both height and steepness.
According to him, the jut of point p is the maximum angle-reduced height of p above any point on the planetary surface. Jut estimates how impressively a point rises above its surroundings, estimating height and steepness. A point with a jut of x meters is interpreted to rise as impressively as a vertical cliff that is x meters tall. For example, a vertical cliff of height x, a 45° cone of height 1.41x, and a 30° cone of height 2x would all estimate a jut of x and be regarded as equally impressive.
