Denali
highest mountain in North America, located in Alaska
Denali ( də-NAH-lee; Koyukon: Deenaalee), 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. Its vertical relief above the surrounding plateaus is one of the greatest on Earth, measuring about 18,000 feet (5,500 meters). With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet (6,144 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 1975, the State of Alaska officially renamed the mountain Denali and requested the federal government follow suit. The United States Department of the Interior changed the official federal name of the mountain to Denali on August 29, 2015. In January 2025, the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration reverted the mountain's official federal name to Mount McKinley.
In 1903, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful.
“Denali” enters the record as highest mountain in North America, located in Alaska. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Denali, highest and mountain can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Denali” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Denali, highest and mountain provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q130018. VIAF identifies the subject as 241195889. The Library of Congress control number is sh85082617. Authority coordinates are 63.069, -151.006. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1896, 1917, 2015 and 1975.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Denali” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.