Denali

Denali
Mount McKinley
A snow-covered, gently sloping mountain is in the background, with a lake in the foreground
From the north, with Wonder Lake in the foreground
Highest point
Elevation20,310 ft (6,190 m) top of snow
NAVD88
Prominence20,194 ft (6,155 m)
Parent peakAconcagua
Isolation4,621.1 mi (7,436.9 km)
Listing
Geography
Denali is located in Alaska
Denali
Denali
Location in Alaska
LocationMt. McKinley National Park and Preserve, Alaska, U.S.
Parent rangeAlaska Range
Topo mapUSGS Mt. McKinley A-3
Climbing
First ascentJune 7, 1913 by
  • Hudson Stuck
  • Henry Karstens
  • Walter Harper
  • Robert Tatum
Easiest routeWest Buttress Route (glacier/snow climb)

Denali, also called Mount McKinley is the highest mountain peak in both the United States and North America, and one of Seven Summits. It is exactly 20,310 feet (6,190 m) high. It is in the highest part of the Alaska Range.

Name

In 1896, a gold prospector named it Mount McKinley after William McKinley, who would win the presidency that year. The U.S. government adopted "Mount McKinley" in 1917. In 1975, the Alaskan government began calling the mountain "Denali." The U.S. government followed suit in 2015. In 2025, President Donald Trump ordered government agencies to go back to the name "Mount McKinley."

Location

Denali is in the middle of the Alaska Range. It is about 130 miles (210 km) north-northwest of Anchorage and 155 miles (249 km) southwest of Fairbanks. The summit is about 35 miles (56 km) from the nearest major road, the George Parks Highway.

References

  1. ↑ Mark Newell; Blaine Horner (September 2, 2015). "New Elevation for Nation's Highest Peak" (Press release). USGS. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Wagner, Mary Jo (November 2015). "Surveying at 20,000 feet". The American Surveyor. 12 (10): 10–19. ISSN 1548-2669.
  3. 1 2 3 PeakVisor. "Denali". Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ Elevations and Distances in the United States Archived 2008-10-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on July 25, 2007
  5. ↑ Friedman, Jordan (2025-01-17). "Why the Name of Alaska's Peak Changed From Mt. McKinley to Denali". HISTORY. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  6. ↑ "Mountain Name Origins - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  7. ↑ Veregin, Howard (2025-01-22). "Renaming Denali and the Gulf of Mexico". State Cartographer's Office. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  8. ↑ House, The White (2025-01-21). "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness". The White House. Retrieved 2025-12-12.