When talking about the tallest mountains, we usually hear about Mount Everest or Mount Kilimanjaro. However, there are over a million mountains in the world so many great mountains are not making it into the conversation. But, what is the tallest mountain in the U.S.? Mount Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley.
Mount Denali
Mount Denali is not only the tallest mountain in the U.S. but also the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level. Mount Denali is the third highest summit of the seven peaks, the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents.
Mount Denali is also Earth’s highest mountain north of 43 degrees N.
Where Is it?
Mount Denali is located in the Alaska Range, about 130 miles north-west of Anchorage, as the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve, which spans 6 million acres of land.
Sixty million years ago, tectonic plate uplift pushed Earth’s crust up, forming Denali and the rest of the Alaska Range mountains, creating this magnificent mountain range.
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Who lives around it?
Located outside of Anchorage, the Koyukon people inhabit the area around the mountain. The Koyukon people are an athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their territories consist along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they have lived for thousands of years by hunting and trapping.
Where Does Its Name Come From?
The Koyukon people have called the mountain Denali for centuries, meaning “the tall one.” However, in 1896, William A. Dickey started calling the mountain “Mount McKinley,” to honor William McKinley who was a presidential candidate at the time. After McKinely became President and then was assassinated, Congress officially named the mountain after him, despite him never visiting Alaska.
But, this official new name did not deter native Alaskans and they continued to call the mountain Denali. In 1975, a movement to officially rename the mountain Denali began, but was quickly shut down by politicians. However, the mountain was finally renamed to its original name in 2015 when President Obama and Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, took to action and changed the name back to Denali. Mount Denali is now its official name.
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Can You Climb It?
Denali is an extremely difficult mountain to climb due to its severe weather and steep vertical climbs. It was first climbed in 1906 when physician and explorer Frederick Cook bravely attempted to reach the top. It was later learned that he lied and never reached the summit.
The team of Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens and the rest of their climbers were the first to actually reach the top in 1913. Since then, hundreds of people attempt to climb Denali each year to experience not only one of the most majestic mountains in the world but the tallest mountain in the U.S.
