Denali rises 6,190 m above sea level - the highest peak in North America. Orbit the Alaska Range massif and toggle the record base-to-peak rise band, or switch the Kahiltna Glacier tongue on and off to see the bare rock beneath.
Published figures: summit 6,190 m / 20,310 ft (2015 USGS survey); base-to-peak vertical rise about 5,500 m / 18,000 ft, among the greatest of any mountain on Earth; first verified ascent to the true summit by Walter Harper on 1913-06-07.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Denali 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows Denali as a schematic Alaska Range massif: the 6,190 m summit rising from a low-elevation base, a translucent band marking its record base-to-peak vertical rise, and the Kahiltna Glacier tongue flowing down one flank.
Denali - "the tall one" or "the great one" in Koyukon Athabascan, officially renamed from Mount McKinley in 2015 - stands in the Alaska Range within Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Because its base sits near sea level rather than atop a high plateau, Denali rises roughly 5,500 m from base to summit in about 20 km of horizontal distance - a greater base-to-peak vertical rise than any other mountain fully above sea level, including Mount Everest, which climbs "only" about 3,650 m above its own high Tibetan Plateau base. Walter Harper, a member of the Stuck-Karstens-Tatum expedition, became the first person confirmed to reach the true summit on 1913-06-07.
- Toggle the base-to-peak rise band spanning the mountain's record vertical relief
- Toggle the Kahiltna Glacier tongue to see the bare granite beneath
- Read elevation, rise, and first-ascent figures in the panel
- Compare Denali's low-elevation base against Everest's high-plateau base
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Summit elevation | 6,190 m / 20,310 ft (2015 USGS survey) |
| Location | Alaska Range, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA |
| Base-to-peak rise | about 5,500 m / 18,000 ft - among the greatest vertical relief of any mountain on Earth |
| Name | Denali (Koyukon Athabascan, "the tall one" / "the great one"); officially renamed from Mount McKinley in 2015 |
| First ascent (true summit) | Walter Harper, 1913-06-07 (Stuck-Karstens-Tatum expedition) |
| Major glacier | Kahiltna Glacier - the mountain's largest, about 70 km long |
| Geology | granite pluton uplifted along the Denali Fault, a right-lateral strike-slip fault |
| Climate | extreme cold - summit temperatures can fall below -40 C, with wind chill on record below -70 C |
For the world's tallest point measured from sea level, open the Mount Everest 3D Explorer, or compare against the icefield scale of Vatnajokull 3D Explorer.
Orbiting Denali, toggling the rise band, and switching the glacier on and off all happen on your own device: the schematic terrain is drawn with WebGL and the vendored three.js engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached, so returning to spin the peak or re-read the figures needs no re-download and no upload.
This is an educational approximation - the ridge shape, glacier tongue, and rise band are schematic teaching cues, not survey terrain.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall is Denali?
6,190 m / 20,310 ft above sea level, per the 2015 USGS survey - the highest peak in North America.
Why does Denali have a bigger base-to-peak rise than Everest?
Denali's base sits near sea level, so it climbs about 5,500 m from base to summit. Everest's base already sits on the high Tibetan Plateau, so it climbs only about 3,650 m above its own base even though its summit is higher above sea level.
Is Denali the same mountain as Mount McKinley?
Yes - the peak was officially renamed Denali in 2015, restoring the Koyukon Athabascan name meaning "the tall one" or "the great one".
Who climbed Denali first?
Walter Harper, a member of the Stuck-Karstens-Tatum expedition, became the first person confirmed to reach the true summit on 1913-06-07.
What is the Kahiltna Glacier?
Denali's largest glacier, about 70 km long, flowing down the mountain's southwest side - the standard approach route for most climbing expeditions starts on it.
Is this a terrain simulation?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the ridge shape, glacier tongue, and rise band are schematic teaching cues, not survey terrain.