# Mount McKinley

Denali (/dəˈnɑːli/), federally designated as Mount McKinley, 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). With a topographic prominence of 20,194 feet (6,155 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,621.1 miles (7,436.9 km), 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 done so, the United States Department of the Interior under the Obama administration announced the change of the official name of the mountain to Denali. On January 24, 2025, the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration changed the mountain's official name back to Mount McKinley.
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.
On September 2, 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey measured the mountain at 20,310 feet (6,190 m) high, 10 ft lower than the 20,320 feet (6,194 m) measured in 1952 using photogrammetry.

## Geology and features

Denali is a granitic pluton, mostly pink quartz monzonite, lifted by tectonic pressure from the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North American Plate; at the same time, the sedimentary material above and around the mountain was stripped away by erosion. The forces that lifted Denali also caused many deep earthquakes in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The Pacific Plate is seismically active beneath Denali, a tectonic region that is known as the "McKinley cluster".

### Structural geology

The high topography of Denali is related to the complex structural relationships created by the right-lateral Denali Fault and Denali Fault Bend. The Denali Fault is caused by stresses created by the low-angle subduction of the Yakutat microplate underneath Alaska. The Denali Fault Bend is characterized as a gentle restraining bend. The Denali Fault Bend represents a curvature in the Denali Fault that is approximately 75 km long. This curvature creates what is known as a "space problem". As the right-lateral movement along the Denali Fault continues, high compressional forces created at the fault bend essentially push the crust up in a vertical fashion. The longer the crust stays within the restraining bend, the higher the topography will be. Several active normal faults north of the restraining bend have recently been mapped with slip rates of approximately 2–6 mm/year. These normal faults help to accommodate the unusual curvature of the restraining bend.

### Elevation

Denali has a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level, making it the highest peak in North America and the northernmost mountain above 19,685 feet (6,000 m) elevation in the world. Measured from base to peak at some 18,000 ft (5,500 m), it is among the largest mountains situated entirely above sea level. Denali rises from a sloping plain with elevations from 1,000 to 3,000 ft (300 to 910 m), for a base-to-peak height of 17,000 to 19,000 ft (5,000 to 6,000 m). By comparison, Mount Everest rises from the Tibetan Plateau at a much higher base elevation. Base elevations for Everest range from 13,800 ft (4,200 m) on the south side to 17,100 ft (5,200 m) on the Tibetan Plateau, for a base-to-peak height in the range of 12,000 to 15,300 ft (3,700 to 4,700 m). Denali's base-to-peak height is little more than half the 33,500 ft (10,200 m) of the volcano Mauna Kea, which lies mostly under water.

### Geography of the mountain

Denali has two significant summits: the South Summit is the higher one, while the North Summit has an elevation of 19,470 ft (5,934 m) and a prominence of approximately 1,270 ft (387 m). The North Summit is sometimes counted as a separate peak (see e.g., fourteener) and sometimes not; it is rarely climbed, except by those doing routes on the north side of the massif.
Five large glaciers flow off the slopes of the mountain. The Peters Glacier lies on the northwest side of the massif, while the Muldrow Glacier falls from its northeast slopes. Just to the east of the Muldrow, and abutting the eastern side of the massif, is the Traleika Glacier. The Ruth Glacier lies to the southeast of the mountain, and the Kahiltna Glacier leads up to the southwest side of the mountain. With a length of 44 mi (71 km), the Kahiltna Glacier is the longest glacier in the Alaska Range.

## Naming

The Koyukon Athabaskans who inhabit the area around the mountain have for centuries referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali. The name is based on a Koyukon word for 'high' or 'tall'. During the Russian ownership of Alaska, the common name for the mountain was Bolshaya Gora (Russian: Большая Гора; bolshaya 'big'; gora 'mountain'), which is the Russian translation of Denali. It was briefly called Densmore's Mountain in the late 1880s and early 1890s after Frank Densmore, a gold prospector who was the first non-native Alaskan to reach the base of the mountain.
In 1896, a gold prospector named it McKinley as political support for then-presidential candidate William McKinley, who became president the following year. The United States formally recognized the name Mount McKinley after President Woodrow Wilson signed the Mount McKinley National Park Act of February 26, 1917. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the north and south peaks of the mountain the "Churchill Peaks", in honor of British statesman Winston Churchill. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to Denali in 1975, which was how it was referred to locally. However, a request in 1975 from the Alaska state legislature to the United States Board on Geographic Names to do the same at the federal level was blocked by Ohio congressman Ralph Regula, whose district included McKinley's home town of Canton.
On August 30, 2015, just ahead of a presidential visit to Alaska, the Barack Obama administration announced the name Denali would be restored in line with the Alaska Geographic Board's designation. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell issued the order changing the name to Denali on August 28, 2015, effective immediately. Jewell said the change had been "a long time coming". The renaming of the mountain received praise from Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, who had previously introduced legislation to accomplish the name change, but it drew criticism from several politicians from President McKinley's home state of Ohio, such as Governor John Kasich, U.S. Senator Rob Portman, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, and Representative Bob Gibbs, who described Obama's action as "constitutional overreach" because he said an act of Congress was required to rename the mountain. The Alaska Dispatch News reported that the secretary of the interior has authority under federal law to change geographic names when the Board of Geographic Names does not act on a naming request within a "reasonable" period of time. Jewell told the Alaska Dispatch News that "I think any of us would think that 40 years is an unreasonable amount of time."
In December 2024, President-elect Donald Trump stated that he planned to revert the mountain's official name back to Mount McKinley during his second term, in honor of President William McKinley. Trump had previously proposed changing the name in 2017, drawing opposition from Alaska's Republican governor Mike Dunleavy. His 2017 proposal was strongly opposed by both U.S. senators from Alaska, Murkowski and another Republican named Dan Sullivan, who, along with Alaska State Senator Scott Kawasaki, a Democrat, again expressed their preference for Denali in 2024. On January 20, 2025, shortly after his second inauguration, Trump signed an executive order requiring the secretary of the interior to revert the Obama-era name change within 30 days of signing, renaming Denali back to Mount McKinley in official maps and communications from the American federal government. The executive order does not change the name of Denali National Park. On January 23, 2025, the Department of the Interior changed the mountain's official name back to Mount McKinley. The same day, the Associated Press announced that it would use Mount McKinley instead of Denali, with the reasoning that as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names of features lying within national borders.
According to the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development's official database of business licenses, businesses named after Denali outnumber those named after McKinley by a margin of six to one.
Indigenous names for Denali can be found in seven different Alaskan languages. The names fall into two categories. To the south of the Alaska Range in the Dena'ina and Ahtna languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as 'big mountain'. To the north of the Alaska Range in the Lower Tanana, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Holikachuk, and Deg Xinag languages the mountain is known by names that are translated as 'the high one', 'the tall one' (Koyukon, Lower and Middle Tanana, Upper Kuskokwim, Deg Xinag, and Holikachuk).
Asked about the importance of the mountain and its name, Will Mayo, former president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, an organization that represents 42 Athabaskan tribes in the Alaskan interior, said: "It's not one homogeneous belief structure around the mountain, but we all agree that we're all deeply gratified by the acknowledgment of the importance of Denali to Alaska's people."
The following table lists the Alaskan Athabascan names for Denali.
| Literal meaning | Native language | Spelling in the local practical alphabet | Spelling in a standardized alphabet | IPA transcription |
| 'The tall one' | Koyukon | Deenaalee | Diinaalii | /diːˈnæli/ |
| 'The tall one' | Lower Tanana | Deenadheet, Deenadhee | Diinaadhiit, Diinaadhii | /diˈnæðid/ |
| 'The tall one' | Middle Tanana | Diineezi | Diinaadhi | /diˈnæði/ |
| 'The tall one' | Upper Kuskokwim | Denaze | Diinaazii | /diˈnæzi/ |
| 'The tall one' | Deg Xinag | Dengadh, Dengadhi | Dengadh, Dengadhe | /təˈŋað, təˈŋaðə/ |
| 'The tall one' | Holikachuk | Denadhe | Diinaadhii | /diːˈnæðiː/ |
| 'Big mountain' | Ahtna | Dghelaay Ce'e, Deghilaay Ce'e | Dghelaay Ke'e, Deghilaay Ke'e | /dʁɛˈlɔj ˈkɛʔɛ/ |
| 'Big mountain' | Upper Inlet Dena'ina | Dghelay Ka'a | Dghelay Ka'a | /dʁəˈlaj ˈkaʔa/ |
| 'Big mountain' | Lower Inlet Dena'ina | Dghili Ka'a | Dghili Ka'a | /dʁili ˈkaʔa/ |
* 1 2 3 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.
* ↑ Wagner, Mary Jo (November 2015). "Surveying at 20,000 feet". The American Surveyor. 12 (10): 10–19. ISSN 1548-2669.
* 1 2 3 4 5 PeakVisor. "Denali". Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
* ↑ Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917]. Peter Roach; James Hartmann; Jane Setter (eds.). English Pronouncing Dictionary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 3-12-539683-2.
* ↑ "Denali". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
* 1 2 3 "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.
* ↑ Friedman, Lisa (January 24, 2025). "Interior Department says the Gulf of Mexico is now officially known as the Gulf of America'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
* ↑ 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)".
* 1 2 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.
* 1 2 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.
* 1 2 "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.
* 1 2 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.
* 1 2 Brease, P. (May 2003). "GEO-FAQS #1 – General Geologic Features" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
* ↑ Yoshikawa, Kenji; Okura, Yositomi; Autier, Vincent; Ishimaru, Satoshi (2006). "Secondary calcite crystallization and oxidation processes of granite near the summit of Mt. McKinley, Alaska". Géomorphologie. 12 (6). doi:10.4000/geomorphologie.147. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
* ↑ Hanson, Roger A. "Earthquake and Seismic Monitoring in Denali National Park" (PDF). National Park Service. pp. 23–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
* 1 2 Burkett, Corey (2016). "Along-fault migration of the Mount McKinley restraining bend of the Denali fault defined by late Quaternary fault patterns and seismicity, Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska". Tectonophysics. 693: 489–506. Bibcode:2016Tectp.693..489B. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.05.009. hdl:10919/101887.
* ↑ Clark, Liesl (2000). "NOVA Online: Surviving Denali, The Mission". NOVA. Public Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
* ↑ Mount Everest (Map). 1:50,000. Cartography by Bradford Washburn. 1991. ISBN 3-85515-105-9. Prepared for the Boston Museum of Science, the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, and the National Geographic Society
* ↑ "Mountains: Highest Points on Earth". National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
* ↑ "Mount McKinley-North Peak, Alaska". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
* ↑ "Denali National Park and Preserve". AreaParks.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
* ↑ "Denali National Park". PlanetWare. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
* ↑ Martinson, Erica (August 30, 2015). "McKinley no more: America's tallest peak to be renamed Denali". Alaska Dispatch News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2015. The name "Denali" is derived from the Koyukon name and is based on a verb theme meaning "high" or "tall," according to linguist James Kari of the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in the book "Shem Pete's Alaska." It doesn't mean "the great one," as is commonly believed, Kari wrote.
* ↑ Dictionary of Alaska Place Names (PDF). United States Department of the Interior. 1976. p. 610. ISBN 0-944780-02-4..
* ↑ Norris, Frank. "Crown Jewel of the North: An Administrative History of Denali National Park and Preserve, Vol. 1" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
* ↑ Berton, Pierre (1990) [1972]. Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush 1896–1899 (revised ed.). Penguin Books Canada. p. 84. ISBN 0-14-011759-8. OCLC 19392422.
* ↑ United States. Dept. of the Interior. Alaska Planning Group (1974). Proposed Mt. McKinley National Park Additions, Alaska: Final Environmental Statement. Alaska Planning Group, U.S. Department of the Interior. p. 558. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
* ↑ Johnson, Lyndon B. (October 23, 1965). "Statement by the President Designating Two Peaks of Mount McKinley in Honor of Sir Winston Churchill". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
* ↑ Senator Ron Wyden (September 10, 2013). "Senate Report 113-93, Designation of Denali in the State of Alaska". US Government Publishing Office. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
* ↑ Monmonier, Mark (1995). Drawing the Line: Tales of Maps and Cartocontroversy. Henry Holt and Company. p. 67. ISBN 0-8050-2581-2. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
* ↑ Richardson, Jeff (August 30, 2015). "Denali to be restored as name of North America's tallest mountain". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
* ↑ "President Obama OKs renaming of Mount McKinley to Denali". Alaska Dispatch News. August 30, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
* ↑ Matthew Smith "Murkowski thanks Obama for restoring Denali", (video) Archived September 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Alaska Public Radio, KNOM, Nome, August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015
* ↑ Memoli, Michael A. (August 30, 2015). "Mt. McKinley, America's Tallest Peak, is Getting Back its Original Name: Denali". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
* ↑ "Ohio lawmakers slam Obama plans to rename Mt. McKinley 'Denali' during Alaska trip". Fox News. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
* ↑ Glionna, John M. (August 31, 2015). "It's back to Denali, but some McKinley supporters may be in denial". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
* ↑ "Ohio Gov. Kasich opposes changing name of Mount McKinley". KTUU. Associated Press. August 31, 2015. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
* ↑ Martinson, Erica (August 30, 2015). "McKinley no more: North America's tallest peak to be renamed Denali". Alaska Dispatch News. Archived from the original on September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
* ↑ Bohrer, Becky (January 20, 2025). "Trump order seeks to change the name of North America's tallest peak from Denali to Mount McKinley". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
* ↑ Merica, Dan (October 24, 2017). "Trump asked about renaming Denali as Mt. McKinley". CNN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
* ↑ Rosen, Yereth (December 25, 2024). "Trump's plan to revert Denali to Mount McKinley name irks Alaskans". Alaska Beacon. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
* ↑ "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness" (Press release). The White House. January 20, 2025. Archived from the original on January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
* ↑ Bohannon, Molly. "Trump Renames Denali To Mount McKinley—Here's What To Know". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
* ↑ Barrett, Amanda (January 23, 2025). "AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
* ↑ Ruskin, Liz (February 3, 2025). "We asked: Mount McKinley or Denali? You said: Denali". Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Public Media. Archived from the original on February 8, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
* ↑ Hedin, Robert; Holthaus, Gary (1994). Alaska: Reflections on Land and Spirit. University of Arizona Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-8165-1442-7. Archived from the original on July 9, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
* 1 2 James, Kari (2003). "Names for Denali/Mt. McKinley in Alaska Native Languages". pp. 211–13. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
* ↑ Thiessen, Mark (August 31, 2015). "Renaming Mount McKinley to Denali: 9 questions answered". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.