What is the highest mountain in North America?
Denali, in Alaska, is the highest mountain in North America, at 6,190 meters. In 2025, its official US name was changed back to Mount McKinley.
Denali rises in the Alaska Range in Denali National Park and Preserve. Measured from its base to its peak, about 5,500 meters, it is taller than Everest's base-to-summit rise. Its extreme northern location makes it one of the coldest mountains in the world, with temperatures that can fall below minus 40 degrees.
The name Denali comes from the Koyukon Athabaskan language and is often translated as the high one. The mountain was named Mount McKinley in 1917 after President William McKinley. The US officially changed the name to Denali in 2015, and a 2025 executive order restored the name Mount McKinley at the federal level. Alaska still uses Denali.
Climbing it
The first ascent of the main summit was made in 1913 by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper and Robert Tatum. Walter Harper, an Alaska Native, was the first to reach the top. Each year, about 1,000 climbers attempt it.
Did You Know?
Mount Logan in Canada, at 5,959 meters, is the second-highest mountain in North America and has one of the largest bases of any mountain.