Mount_McKinleyImage: commons.wikimedia.org

The White House announced today that President Obama is officially changing the name of North America’s highest peak from Mt. McKinley — named after William McKinley, the 25th president — to it’s traditional Alaska Native name, Denali.

Obama will make a public announcement of the name change in Anchorage Monday, during a three-day visit to Alaska.

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Denali Facts

  • At 20,237 feet (6,168 meters) above sea level it is the highest mountain in North America.
  • Denali is an indigenous Koyukon name, allegedly meaning “great one.”
  • A gold prospector, William Dickey, had named it Mount McKinley in 1896, after President William McKinley.
  • McKinley, who was from Ohio, never visited his namesake mountain or any part of Alaska.
  • An estimated 32,000 people have attempted to reach the summit, with about a 50 percent success rate.
  • In 1947 Barbara Washburn becomes the first woman to summit Mt. McKinley.
  • At 78-years-old Tom Choate is the oldest person to reach the summit.

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