The highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley is near the center of the Alaska Range in south-central Alaska. The upper two thirds of its massive summit is covered with permanent snow fields that feed many glaciers.

Location and physical features

Rising to 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) above sea level, Mount McKinley is located in a national park. Called Mount McKinley National Park when it was created in 1917, the park was expanded and renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980.

Two peaks crown the mountain. The south peak is higher and rises abruptly to 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) above its base. Some of the glaciers on its summit are over 30 miles (48 kilometers) in length.

Study and exploration

George Vancouver, an English navigator, first sighted Mount McKinley in 1794. The first unsuccessful attempt to climb it was made in 1903 by an attorney, James Wickersham. William Taylor and Peter Anderson reached the top of the north peak in 1910. The true summit, or south peak, was not scaled until June 13, 1913, when Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens successfully led a party there. Mount McKinley was known to the Athapaskan Indians as Denali (the High One) and to the Russians as Bolshaya Gora (Great Mountain). It was named Densmores Peak in 1889 after Frank Densmore, an explorer. The mountain was renamed Mount McKinley in 1896 to honor William McKinley, who became president of the United States later that year.