Brief History Of Denali: Mt. Mckinley

Denali is found in the Alaska Mountain Range expanding from Lake Clark in Alaska to the White River in Canada. It is not only the tallest mountain in North America, but also the third tallest in the world, measured at 20,310 feet behind Everest and Aconcagua (1, Figure 1). Interestingly enough, Denali is actually three and one-half vertical miles from its base, meaning it is one mile taller from the base to summit than Mt. Everest (5). The first attempt to climb Denali was in 1903 by James Wickersham, but he was unsuccessful. Later, a group of four climbers, Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walker Harper, and Robert Tatum, successfully summit on June 7 of 1913. They climbed the South Summit, but in 1951 Bradford Washburn discovered the fact that West Buttress route was easiest and safest; it is the most traveled route today (1). In 1896, Denali actually was known as Mount McKinley, in support of presidential candidate, William McKinley. As of August this year, Mount McKinley officially became known as Denali, which means “the tall one” (1, 4). The name changed in respect to the Koyukon Athabascan people since it is what they, as inhabitants, have always referred to the mountain as (1). Denali’s story not only includes information about its climb and name, but also about its tectonic evolution, rock type, and glacial history.

Denali Fault is 1,300 miles long and actually connects to Queen Charlotte/ Fairweather Fault, the name depends on where a person is located (10, Figure 4). Not only is it an active oriented northeast- southwest fault, but it is also bent. The arc of the fault is north of Denali and rocks accumulate inside of it, making it a thrust fault (11). Geologists have recorded that Denali rises one half of a millimeter per year; moreover, Denali will rise one kilometer in the next two million years, which is considered a very short time in geologic history