Denali (Mount McKinley) elevation
20,310ft
above sea level · 6,190 m
Denali is the highest point in Alaska and in all of North America. Since 2025 its federal name is Mount McKinley (as it was until 2015); the State of Alaska and the national park call it Denali.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 63.07° N · 151.01° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 63° 4′ 9″ N · 151° 0′ 23″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 5V · 600,737 E · 6,994,851 N
- Zone 5 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Alaska Time
- UTC−9 · UTC−8 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Ground height (3DEP)
- 20,228 ft
- What the USGS model gives at this exact point, on a 5 m grid. The official elevation is 20,310 ft.
Compared with other state high points
At 20,310 ft (6,190 m), Denali is the highest of the 50 state high points. Next come Mount Whitney, in California, at 14,494 ft, and Mount Elbert, in Colorado, at 14,433 ft.
The USGS table “Elevations and Distances in the United States” gives it 20,320 ft. In 2015 a new GPS survey on the summit put it at 20,310 ft, today’s official figure. The 3DEP elevation model gives 20,228 ft at the gazetteer point: 82 ft less, which is normal on a summit: the model averages the ground in each cell.
Alaska’s capital, Juneau, is 648 mi away in a straight line and 20,276 ft lower.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Anchorage, 133 mi away in a straight line and 20,206 ft lower.
Alaska’s lowest point is the Pacific Ocean, at sea level: a total relief of 20,310 ft.
- 1 Denali 20,310 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Denali.
How tall is Denali?
Denali is 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. That’s the official USGS figure, from the 2015 survey.
What are the coordinates of Denali?
Latitude 63.06910 and longitude -151.00626, in decimal degrees (63° 4′ 9″ N · 151° 0′ 23″ W). In UTM, zone 5: 600,737 E and 6,994,851 N, on NAD83.
Is Denali the highest mountain in the US?
Yes. At 20,310 feet (6,190 m), it’s the highest point in the country and in North America.
What county is Denali in?
The summit point falls in Denali Borough, Alaska.
Does Denali have other names?
Yes: “Mount McKinley”. The federal government went back to Mount McKinley in 2025; Alaska and the national park still use Denali.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS, new elevation of Denali (2015) The official elevation of the summit. Public domain.
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The ground height at the summit point, to check the figure. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The position and official name of the summit. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know