Cavanal Hill - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

Cavanal Hill

Poteau, Oklahoma

Claims to be the "World's Highest Hill." 

View all photos
84
215
Top Places in Oklahoma
Woolaroc Lodge.
Woolaroc
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Darryl Starbird's National Rod and Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum
Afton, Oklahoma
E.W. Marland Mansion
Ponca City, Oklahoma
 See All

Looming above the town of Poteau is a hill with dozens of towers and antennas protruding from its relatively flat top. Take a short drive up and visitors will be rewarded with great views of the surrounding area. 

The claim of being the “world’s highest hill” is predicated on a less-than-bulletproof definition employed by the UK’s government, which states that the cutoff between being a hill and being a mountain is the 2,000-meter threshold. By this logic, anything taller than Cavanal Hill stops being a hill. The USGS and other bodies, however, offer very different definitions of the hill. 

Regardless of the extent to which Cavanal Hill has earned its claim to fame, it is still a remarkably tall geological feature. The sign at its base claims that it soars to 1,999 feet above the ground, a number that seems to have been chosen for dramatic effect but is likely close to accurate. 

nature
Nearby
Heavener Runestone
12.80 miles
Spiro Mounds
17.78 miles
Chaffee Barbershop Museum
25.28 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Markings on the Heavener Runestone.
Heavener, Oklahoma

Heavener Runestone

One believer transformed a local curiosity into proof of Vikings on the Great Plains.
Spiro Mounds
Spiro, Oklahoma

Spiro Mounds

Where hills of dirt conceal the burial ground of one of the most powerful ancient Native American societies.
Chaffee Barbershop Museum. (Creative Commons)
Fort Smith, Arkansas

Chaffee Barbershop Museum

Where Elvis Presley received his first Army buzz cut.
I Yam What I Yam
Alma, Arkansas

Popeye Statue

Bronze statue marks the spinach capital of the world.
Related Places
Redd, Washington

Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area

One of the northernmost occurrences of western juniper can be found in the sand dunes of Washington's Palouse.
Huntsville, Ontario

Dyer Memorial

Built by a Detroit lawyer in honor of his wife.
Rockland, Maine

Project Puffin Visitor Center

Learn about the history and hopeful future of Maine’s nesting birds at this interactive Audubon facility.
Estes Park, Colorado

Birch Ruins

Hike to the decaying remains of a dream house with a spectacular view.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web