Denali loses a few feet, remains North America’s tallest peak

Down the valley towards Denali with the park road winding its way.
Down the valley towards Denali with the park road winding its way. (Photo by Nic McPhee/Wikimedia Commons)

The tallest peak in North America is not as tall as previously thought. That’s according to new data from a federal and state effort to provide more detailed topographical maps of Alaska. Denali was measured at 20,237 feet – 83 feet shorter than maps indicate today.

Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell made the announcement at a meeting of map collectors gathered in Fairbanks this week. In a media release, Treadwell says “The good news is: Denali is still the tallest peak in North America.”

Denali’s updated height was recorded with radar technology which also revealed that an entire ridgeline of Mt. Dickey in Denali National Park was missing from previous maps.

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