Why was North America's highest peak renamed twice?

North America's highest peak has faced a decades-long naming dispute between the traditional Koyukon name Denali and Mount McKinley, named after U.S. President William McKinley. While Alaska officially recognized Denali in 1975, federal designations fluctuated between the two names due to political interventions from Ohio and executive actions by various presidential administrations. Most recently, federal use reverted to Mount McKinley under the Trump administration in 2025.

What we know

• The mountain was unofficially named Mount McKinley in 1896 by a gold prospector and officially designated by the federal government in 1917 to honor President William McKinley. [2, 3]
• In 1975, the Alaska Legislature officially recognized Denali as the mountain's name and asked the federal government to follow suit, an effort repeatedly blocked by members of Congress from Ohio. [2]
• Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell officially changed the federal name to Denali in August 2015 ahead of a visit to Alaska by President Barack Obama. [2, 3]
• In January 2025, following an executive order signed by President Trump, the Department of the Interior reverted the official federal name back to Mount McKinley. [2, 3]

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureWho were the Koyukon people who named Denali?
• whoWho was President William McKinley?
• a case in pointWhat is the history of Denali National Park and Preserve?
• how it workedHow did Sally Jewell change the federal designation in 2015?
• what followedWhat executive order did Donald Trump sign in 2025 regarding Mount McKinley?
• an unexpected connectionHow does a gold prospector's 1896 political gesture link to modern executive orders?A prospector naming a distant Alaskan peak to support a presidential candidate in 1896 initiated a century-long federal naming battle that still triggers executive orders today.

Sources

• [1]Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute (Wikidata Q5256579) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Denali · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Denali National Park and Preserve · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]William McKinley · CC BY-SA 4.0