Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley): Alaska

Denali (also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. At some 18,000 ft (5,500 m), the base-to-peak rise is the largest of any mountain situated entirely above sea level.^[8] With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet (6,144 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,629 miles (7,450 km), Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolatedpeak 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; that name was the official name recognized by the United States government from 1917 until 2015. In August 2015, following the 1975 lead of the state of Alaska, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced the change of the official name of the mountain to Denali. Prior to this, most Alaskans already referred to the mountain as Denali.

In 1903, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful. In 1906, Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent, which was later proven to be false. 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.

Geology and features

Denali is a granitic pluton 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 cause 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".

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 6,000 meters elevation in the world.Measured from base to peak at some 18,000 ft (5,500 m), it is also the largest of any mountain 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.

Layout 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

Literal meaning	Native language	Spelling in the local practical alphabet	Spelling in a standardized alphabet	IPA transcription
'the tall one'	Koyukon	Deenaalee	Diinaalii	/diˈnæli/
	Lower Tanana	Deenadheet, Deenadhee	Diinaadhiit, Diinaadhii	/diˈnæðid/
	Middle Tanana	Diineezi	Diinaadhi	/diˈnæði/
	Upper Kuskokwim	Denaze	Diinaazii	/diˈnæzi/
	Deg Xinag	Dengadh, Dengadhi	Dengadh, Dengadhe	/dɛˈŋað, dɛˈŋaðɛ/
	Holikachuk	Denadhe	Diinaadhii	/diˈnæði/
'big mountain'	Ahtna	Dghelaay Ce'e, Deghilaay Ce'e	Dghelaay Ke'e, Deghilaay Ke'e	/dɣɛˈlɔj ˈkɛˀɛ/
	Upper Inlet Dena'ina	Dghelay Ka'a	Dghelay Ka'a	/dɣɛˈlaj ˈkaˀa/
	Lower Inlet Dena'ina	Dghili Ka'a	Dghili Ka'a	/dɣili ˈkaˀa/