diff --git a/lomax.c b/lomax.c
index 59fe81d8..1c73458b 100644
--- a/lomax.c
+++ b/lomax.c
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ void calculateStatistics(int *iData, int xsize, int ysize,
 			float *average, float *maximum)
 {
   int i, iLength;
-  int max = -9999999999999;
+  int max = -999999999;
   long sum = 0;
 
   iLength = xsize*ysize;