Denali

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/denali

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How high is Denali?20,310 feet (6,190 meters)
2. How tall is Denali?18,000 feet (5,500 meters)
3. What is the location?Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska Range, Alaska, USA
4. What is the global prominence rank?3rd
5. Why does Denali have two names?The mountain was called Mount McKinley after a gold prospector named it in 1896. In 2015 the name was changed back to Denali, the original name used by the Koyukon people meaning "the great one," but it was changed again to Mount McKinley in 2025.
6. Where is Denali located?Denali is in the Alaska Range and is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Indigenous Appellation: A name or title given by the original inhabitants of a region.
Topographic Prominence: The height of a mountain's summit relative to the lowest contour line that encircles it and no higher summit.
Topographic Isolation: The shortest distance from a mountain's summit to a point of equal or higher elevation.
Federal Designation: An official name or status granted by the national government of a country.