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Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, is the highest point in North America at 20,320 feet. It is located in the Alaska Range and was once part of Mount McKinley National Park, now Denali National Park and Preserve. The mountain has two peaks, North and South, and is named after US President William McKinley. Climbers from all over the world attempt to scale the mountain via the West Buttress route.
Mount McKinley is a mountain in Alaska, United States. It is also known as Denali, a Native American Indian name. At 20,320 feet (6,194 meters), it is the highest point in North America.
Mount McKinley is located in the Alaska Range in central Alaska. The Alaska Range itself is part of the Pacific Mountain System, which contains the largest North American glaciers. It was once part of Mount McKinley National Park, which has since become Denali National Park and Preserve. The mountain has two peaks, north and south. The lower North Peak stands at an elevation of 19,740 feet (5,934 meters).
The Alaska Range was formed from the remnants of oceanic crusts and former volcanic islands. These remnants and the subduction of the Pacific tectonic plate under the continental plate have resulted in the height of Mount McKinley and its neighbors. The violence of this process caused magma to form below the range. Much of Mount McKinley is part of a much larger batholith that includes nearby Foraker and Hunter Mountains. A batholith is a geological feature that occurs when magma cools and intrudes into other rocks.
The Alaska Range was inhabited by Native American ancestors possibly as early as 7500 BC, but became known to Europeans when George Vancouver sighted it in 1794. Efforts to climb the mountain began in earnest in the early twentieth century. Dr. Frederick Cook claimed to have summited Mount McKinley in 1906, but suspicions abounded at the time and it is now known that he did not summit. In 1910 William Taylor and Pete Anderson reached the top of the North Peak. In 1913, a party led by Hudson Stuck was the first to reach the summit of South Peak.
Climbers from all over the world are drawn to the challenge of scaling Mount McKinley and other peaks in the Alaska Range. With the mountain’s proximity to the Arctic Circle, cold temperatures and strong winds can make this a daunting task. The most successful attempts have been via the West Buttress route.
Mount McKinley is named after US President William McKinley. It appears to have been named by a New England prospector while McKinley was the presidential candidate elected in early 1897. The mountain is also known by its Native American name, Denali, which means “the great one” or “the tall one.” in the Atabasque language. Mount McKinley National Park was created in 1912. It was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980 and has been expanded.
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