Denali, nation's highest peak, found to be a few feet shorter
First, it got a new name. Now, Denali has a new official height.
Just days after President Obama changed the name of Alaska's Mount McKinley to the Athabascan word meaning "the high one," the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced Wednesday that the mountain is actually 10 feet shorter than previously believed. The latest measurement puts it at 20,310 feet, a bit lower than the 20,320-foot elevation established using 1950s era technology.
While a little shorter, the mountain still retains the title of tallest in North America - more than 759 feet higher than the continent's second-highest peak, Canada's Mount Logan.
"No place draws more public attention to its exact elevation than the highest peak of a continent. Knowing the height of Denali is precisely 20,310 feet has important value to earth scientists, geographers, airplane pilots, mountaineers and the general public. It is inspiring to think we can measure this magnificent peak with such accuracy," said Suzette Kimball, USGS acting director. "This is a feeling everyone can share, whether you happen to be an armchair explorer or an experienced mountain climber."
Researchers wanted to establish a baseline for future investigations of whether the mountain or its ice and snow pack change significantly over time. This new survey measured to the top of the snow and by using a snow probe determined the snowpack to be about 13.6 feet deep.
To get the more accurate elevation, USGS partnered with NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Dewberry, CompassData, (a subcontractor to Dewberry) and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to conduct a precise Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement of a specific point at the mountain's peak.
A team of climbers and GPS experts reached the Denali summit in mid-June. Since then, they have been processing, analyzing, and evaluating the raw data to arrive at the final number of 20,310 feet - taking into account such things as the depth of the snowpack and establishing the appropriate surface that coincides with mean sea level.
The new measurement not only improves on one done in the 1950s but also corrects an estimate made just two years ago that found the mountain to be 20,237 feet - or 83 feet shorter than the 1950s number.
But that survey was done by an airborne radar measurement collected using an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (ifsar) sensor. While Ifsar is an effective tool for collecting map data in challenging areas such as Alaska, it does not provide precise spot or point elevations, especially in very steep terrain.
The new height is unlikely to be as controversial as the new name, which angered Republicans from Ohio, the home state of Pres. William McKinley. McKinley was assassinated early in his second term, in 1901 - before he had the chance to visit the mountain named after him.
The peak - long called Denali by native Alaskans - acquired the name McKinley in 1898, when a prospector was exploring mountains in central Alaska, the White House said. Upon hearing the news that McKinley had received his party's nomination to be president, the prospector named it after him and the name was formally recognized by the government.