# Is there any person who owns a complete mountain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517 "2023-05-24T13:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/1 "2023-05-24T13:58:06Z")
I know mountains are kind of big, but there are privately owned chunks of land that are really big – like Texas cattle ranches and Australian sheep farms and such. And there are differing definitions of what exactly makes a high chunk of ground a ‘mountain’ and at what point the slope of the sides becomes flattened out enough that you can say 'one step to the left here and you’re on Mt. Whatever but one step to the right you’re only on some foothill. Despite those complications, are there any mountains that are totally on land legally owned by one person (or maybe a family trust)? Note: I want to rule out cases where the mountain is considered to be part of a nation’s lands and that nation is sorta ‘owned’ by a king or duke or tsar or whatever and thus that person ‘owns’ the mountain. What I want to know is if Sam Walton or Elon Musk or some petro megabillionaire owns a piece of land that completely contains what is considered to be a mountain. Bonus question: Does any one person/family own a sea? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/2 "2023-05-24T14:05:46Z")
Depending on your definition of mountain: Calvin Trillin wrote about a right-of-way conflict in Virginia. One of the parties owned a large property that included a mountain. > **[RIGHT-OF-WAY](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1985/05/06/right-of-way)** > > AMERICAN CHRONICLES about an argument between neighbors in Rappahannock County, Virginia, over a right-of-way, that climaxed in a killing and murder trial … ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/3 "2023-05-24T14:17:26Z")
Do volcanic islands count? There is the case of White Island, the volcano on which erupted 3-4 years back. It’s privately owned - once up on a time by one man but after his death by his family trust. > **[Whakaari / White Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whakaari_/_White_Island)** > > Whakaari / White Island (\[faˈkaːɾi\], Māori: Te Puia Whakaari, lit. "the dramatic volcano"), also known as White Island or Whakaari, is an active andesite stratovolcano situated 48 km (30 mi) from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. The island covers an area of approximately 325 ha (800 acres), which is just the peak of a much larger submarine volcano. > The island is New Zealand's most active cone volcano, and has been built up by continuous volcanic activit... ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/4 "2023-05-24T14:18:31Z")
Big Sky (Lone Peak) is over 11,000 feet and entirely privately held (by Boyne). The Yellowstone Club is also entirely on private land… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/5 "2023-05-24T14:23:27Z")
the hawaiian island of niihau, max elevation 1,289 ft (Mount Pānīʻau, a shield volcano) is privately owned by the robinson family ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/6 "2023-05-24T14:26:58Z")
The Cielo Vista Ranch in Colorado includes Culebra Peak, one of Colorado’s “14ers” – i.e. a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet of elevation. The property was purchased by the heir to a Texas oil fortune in 2017. I’ve seen it claimed that Culebra is the highest privately owned mountain in the world but I have no way to confirm that. > **[Cielo Vista Ranch, home of fourteener Culebra Peak, now owned by heir to...](https://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/18/cielo-vista-ranch-sold-to-texas-billionaire/)** > > William Bruce Harrison, scion to one of Texas’ original oil fortunes, has purchased the storied 83,000-acre Cielo Vista Ranch in the San Luis Valley, according to Costilla County property rec… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/7 "2023-05-24T14:30:31Z")
> **[How you can own a MOUNTAIN for just $620,000 in Queensland](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10392995/How-MOUNTAIN-just-620-000-Queensland.html)** > > Mount Hallen,100km north-west is up for sale in Queensland with potential buyers offered the opportunity to score an entire mountain for a mere $620,000. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/8 "2023-05-24T14:32:50Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > the hawaiian island of niihau, max elevation 1,289 ft (Mount Pānīʻau) is privately owned by the robinson family Are they Swiss? 😆 (Becomes genuinely curious about the family, googles) No, [American](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Robinson_(environmentalist)) by way of [New Zealand and Scotland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Sinclair#Descendants) originally . ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/9 "2023-05-24T14:42:01Z")
I understand that most start with a molehill. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/10 "2023-05-24T15:24:34Z")
Due to the checkerboard pattern of public and private land in a lot of the US west, there are mountains that in essence are private due to the crackdown on “corner crossing”. I have a thread about this here: > [@Corner Crossing - Large portions of US public land inaccessible to public](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corner-crossing-large-portions-of-us-public-land-inaccessible-to-public/975691): > > I’ve been reading about the corner crossing controversy for a couple years now and don’t think it’s been brought up here. I live in an area of the US that has this patchwork of public and private land. Before I knew of the controversy, I corner crossed thinking there must be nothing wrong with it. Little did I know that rich people that own the private land surrounding the public land begin to view that public land as their own private, and free, paradise. If it truly becomes illegal to corner c… One particular case I highlight is Elk Mountain in Wyoming. That mountain is nearly private since the primary private owner is shutting down corner crossing and even helicopters and planes dropping on the public sections (sections are one square mile). Here is a gifted NYTimes article about it: > **[It’s Public Land. But the Public Can’t Reach It. (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/business/hunting-wyoming-elk-mountain-access.html?unlocked_article_code=SLcTt19ysFGWTM3Y1aCb_sPXiiDPuEdRsN8DOKEEvLHS5ZaSlWzUHSuA0787Kwj0HLWh5ysEDXcRRhEG9a_9byBJqI6tLqJUoKwDOqJTj0KcawS-u8Q-2umQWshkMKIxl2-r98ka5ghAsf39lO33ToXIhX4kodtS7W_JKSxIQuMyaIsEXsqvk1WYDaL67Maq2uZXU9wHW-_8EcEe2pxS4lVBSSM8rqIcBQg0VKZ6huzHD4AAT1_eiewL156eufUYx4ctXsUzISbChJq-oOjzTQ8h69DdPDiBl8ahqPtnK_HHJWj11fSp8DgzvGEKWY0evNhUlUnTGvcmgGxe8j6QcykbHLq_RCkmVHqoHyyK&smid=url-share)** > > A navigation app that illuminates public land within privately held property has supercharged the question of who gets to go where. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/11 "2023-05-25T01:09:32Z")
In Australia the size of the property can be of lesser importance than the size of the mountain. At one stage in the 1880s part of my family owned a grazing property which included [Mount Wycheproof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Wycheproof) The mountain is now part of the part of the township of Wycheproof (pop 600) sited in the green space between the Medical Centre and the swimming pool. Mount Wycheproof is just 42 metres above the surrounding terrain and 147 metres above sea level. It is apparently the smallest registered mountain in the world. Once of the neighboring properties had the more imposing Pyramid Hill, a granite outcrop rising 187m above sea level. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/12 "2023-05-25T01:52:29Z")
If you click through some of the maps you’ll see some land holdings that I’m sure include entire mountains. > **[The Top 100 Private Land Owners in the USA](https://mapoftheweek.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-top-100-private-land-owners-in-usa.html)** > > The United States Government owns 640 Million acres of land (about 28% of the country's land mass). Of the privately held lands, 40 million... ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/13 "2023-05-25T02:01:13Z")
Huh. That’s not far from me. If I had known that was for sale, I would’ve thought about buying it. I wouldn’t have bought it. But I would’ve thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/14 "2023-05-25T14:06:47Z")
Thank you all for the replies! Interesting what the range of ‘mountain’ can be. Seriously, not even 50 meters above the surrounding terrain? And I think I vote no on the island volcanoes that barely break the surface of the water, regardless of how far above the sea floor. An interesting coincidence is that I’ve come across ‘Corner crossing’ as a point in two different novels I’ve read in the past month, plus a couple of magazine/newspaper articles. It must be a really heating up controvery. I’m also amazed at the listing of the Australian mountain for a mere half million! Location, location, location indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/15 "2023-05-25T14:38:21Z")
How much would 250 acres of unimproved, bone dry, rocky, hot, scrubby land an hour’s drive from the nearest city, suitable only for low intensity grazing, with a hill on it cost where you are? ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/16 "2023-05-25T15:00:24Z")
The Highlands of Scotland are both mountainous and owned by a small number of owners of large estates (c.500 people own half of Scotland), so most mountains are claimed by a single owner although there are increasing moves to support community ownership. By way of example, King Charles III owns Lochnagar (1,155m) on the Royal Balmoral Estate. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/17 "2023-05-25T15:09:38Z")
Nearly the entire island of Lanai in Hawaii is owned by Larry Ellison of Oracle Corporation fame, and it has a mountain of about 3,300 ft elevation. I am not sure if he owns the entire mountain, however - perhaps there is a public space at the top. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/18 "2023-05-25T15:45:02Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > How much would 250 acres of unimproved, bone dry, rocky, hot, scrubby land an hour’s drive from the nearest city, suitable only for low intensity grazing, with a hill on it cost where you are? Well, I’m located in a Boston suburb. I don’t think there is ANY land that is unimproved, bone dry, etc. etc. anywhere around here. Maybe not in the entire state. I googled a bit and found an undeveloped lot in Newton listed for $1.2 million, but it was just a hair under one quarter acre, so … I was just bemused at the idea of owning 250 acres of land, including a rather down-sized mountain for an amount of money I could conceivably scrape together. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/19 "2023-05-25T22:31:47Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > How much would 250 acres of unimproved, bone dry, rocky, hot, scrubby land an hour’s drive from the nearest city, suitable only for low intensity grazing, with a hill on it cost where you are? I haven’t checked lately, but land like you’re describing went for about $2K per acre in central Montana about 10-15 years ago. That means the 250 acres would be around a half-million dollars. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517/20 "2023-05-25T22:48:07Z")
Corbin Park -a private game reserve in New Hampshire-- has Croydon Peak-- the highest mountain in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, at 2,760 feet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-person-who-owns-a-complete-mountain/984517.md?page=2)