Top 10 roller coasters in the U.S. offer death-defying thrills

Bigger! Bolder! Faster! More stomach impactful!

American roller coaster designers and thrill ride fans are all about defying gravity with ever-more extreme experiences that turn riders weightless, rudderless and emphatically upside down.

USA Today’s 10Best travel editors asked readers to vote on those adrenaline rushes, which range from “giga coasters” — very fast and very steep — to classic wooden coasters. The top 10 finalists consisted almost entirely of rides we’re too scared to even contemplate, let alone board. But perhaps you will be into steel coasters that rocket along at 93 miles per hour some 310 feet in the air (Cedar Point’s Millennium Force). Or the one that turns you upside down seven times, then drops you with a G-force of 3.85 (Busch Gardens’ Montu).

Here’s the top 10. Read all the roller coaster details and cast your vote for other categories — best aquarium, best zoo and so on — at www.10best.com/awards/travel.

1 Mako, SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida

2 Phantom’s Revenge, Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania

3 Phoenix – Knoebels in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.

4 Fury 325, Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina

5  Lightning Rod, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

6 Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio