Denali--The Mountain

"The mountain is out!"

This expression has specific meaning when you are in Denali National Park and Preserve and refers to the most sought after geological feature for many park visitors when they come to the park--Mount McKinley.  More often than not, the mountain is hidden by clouds, so it was a surprise to hear these words on the morning of my second day in Denali, especially after arriving in steady rain on the previous day!  We wasted no time.  

Mt McKinley, with its summit elevation of 20,230 ft above sea level, is the tallest mountain in the United States and in North America, and the third tallest in the world next to Mt Everest, in Tibet at 29,029 ft, and Aconcaqua, in Argentina at 22,837 ft. This feature makes the mountain a notorious and popular mountaineering site.  1223 registered climbers climbed the mountain in 2012 before the season closed--498 of those climbers made it to the summit.

View from Eielson Visitor's Center

Besides the incredible beauty and mystique surrounding this mountain, it's also fascinating to consider its geological history and the fact that the mountain is continuing to change. Mt McKinley is considered a granitic pluton, a mass of magma or lava that cooled and hardened beneath the earth's surface.  Over tens of millions of years the mountain was up lifted by tectonic pressures imposed by the collision between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, large segments of the earth's crust that shift and overlap over time in a process called subduction. These pressures formed the mountain and surrounding range and continue to influence them.

Above and below, views of Mt McKinley from the Wonder Lake area.

Earthquakes occur along the Denali Fault line, which runs through the park and the Alaska Range, and glaciers advance and retreat making this mountain and its surrounding valley alive with change and movement.  In fact, geologists report that Mt McKinley continues to grow taller by 1 millimeter each year.

I could only absorb a small amount of this fascinating geological history while visiting Denali from Sept 1st through 6th and since that time.  I brought home many books to enjoy at my leisure!  I encourage you to visit some of the links below that offer more interesting details about the history of the mountain formations and their dynamic influence on the land and ecosystems around them.

Up Coming:  More about Mt McKinley and its glaciers, Wonder Lake, and Wildlife Encounters

Links and Resources:

Click this link to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve.  To see all posts on my visit to Alaska in the fall of 2012, visit Alaska

Mt McKinley's geological history
Ecological Overview of Denali National Park and Preserve
Geological Features of Mt McKinley
Wiki on Mount McKinley
Mountaineering in Denali, current climbing activity
Glaciers in Denali National Park