New measurement trims official elevation of Alaska's Denali, North America's tallest peak
North America's tallest mountain just got a shorter name. Now it has a shorter elevation.
Denali, the Alaska mountain formerly known as Mount McKinley, now measures 20,310 at its highest point in a new official elevation the U.S. Geological Survey announced Wednesday. That's 10 feet less than the old measurement of 20,320 feet.
The change comes just days after the Obama administration announced its decision to bestow the mountain's traditional Alaska Native name on the eve of president's visit to Alaska this week.
USGS spokesman Mark Newell says the old measurement stems from a 1953 survey that used technology of the time.
The new elevation is the result of data collected from the mountain by climbers in June with the help of GPS instruments.