Denali

Denali
Mount McKinley
From the north, with Wonder Lake in the foreground
Highest point
Elevation20,310 ft (6,190 m) top of snow[1][2]
NAVD88
Prominence20,156 ft (6,144 m)[3]
Parent peakAconcagua[3]
Isolation4,621.1 mi (7,436.9 km)[3]
Listing
  • World's most prominent peaks 3rd
  • World's most isolated peaks 3rd
  • Seven Summits 3rd
  • Country high points 14th
  • North America highest peaks 1st
  • US highest major peaks 1st
  • Alaska highest major peaks 1st
  • US state high points 1st
Coordinates63°4′9″N 151°0′23″W / 63.06917°N 151.00639°W / 63.06917; -151.00639[4]
Geography
Denali
Location in Alaska
Interactive map of Denali
LocationDenali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, US
Parent rangeAlaska Range
Topo mapUSGS Mt. McKinley A-3
Climbing
First ascentJune 7, 1913 by
  • Hudson Stuck
  • Harry Karstens
  • Walter Harper
  • Robert Tatum
Easiest routeWest Buttress Route (glacier/snow climb)

Denali (/dəˈnɑːli/),[5] federally designated as Mount McKinley,[6][7] is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring 18,000 ft (5,500 m).[8] With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet (6,144 m)[3] and a topographic isolation of 4,621.1 miles (7,436.9 km),[3] Denali is the third most prominent and third-most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.

The Koyukon people who inhabit the area around the mountain have referred to the peak as "Denali" for centuries. In 1896, a gold prospector named it "Mount McKinley" in support of then-presidential candidate William McKinley, who later became the 25th president; McKinley's name was the official name recognized by the federal government of the United States from 1917 until 2015. In August 2015, 40 years after Alaska had officially named the mountain Denali, the United States Department of the Interior under the Obama administration changed the official federal name of the mountain also to Denali.[9][10][11] In January 2025, the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration reverted the mountain's official federal name to Mount McKinley.[12][6]

In 1903, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful. In 1906, Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent, but this ascent is unverified and its legitimacy questioned. The first verifiable ascent to Denali's summit was achieved on June 7, 1913, by climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum, who went by the South Summit. In 1951, Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most popular currently in use.[13]

On September 2, 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey measured the mountain at 20,310 feet (6,190 m) high,[1] 10 ft lower than the 20,320 feet (6,194 m) measured in 1952 using photogrammetry.

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e PeakVisor. "Denali". Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference gnis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917]. Peter Roach; James Hartmann; Jane Setter (eds.). English Pronouncing Dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 3-12-539683-2.
  6. ^ a b Friedman, Lisa (January 24, 2025). "Interior Department Says Gulf of Mexico Is Now 'Gulf of America'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mount McKinley
  8. ^ Adam Helman (2005). The Finest Peaks: Prominence and Other Mountain Measures. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-5995-4. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2012. On p. 20 of Helman (2005):"the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some 18,000 ft (5,500 m)".
  9. ^ "Denali Name Change" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Department of the Interior. August 28, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  10. ^ Campbell, Jon (August 30, 2015). "Old Name Officially Returns to Nation's Highest Peak". U.S. Board on Geographic Names (U.S. Geological Survey). Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Mr. Wyden, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (September 10, 2013). "Senate Report 113-93 – Designation of Denali in the State of Alaska". U.S. Government Publishing Office. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2015. The State of Alaska changed the name of the mountain to Denali in 1975, although the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has continued to use the name Mount McKinley. Today most Alaskans refer to Mount McKinley as Denali.
  12. ^ "Interior Department Advances Restoration of Historic Names Honoring American Greatness | U.S. Department of the Interior". www.doi.gov. January 24, 2025. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference roberts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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