George And Audrey DeLange
Denali (The Great One)
Page Twenty Five August 1998
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Getting into the spirit of Alaska, we see Denali! Denali is officially known as Mount McKinley, in honor of an American president. Denali however, is the name given by the native people. It's the highest point on the North American continent and a world-class mountaineering destination.
The great forces of plate tectonics that lifted Denali also raised the other great ranges across southern Alaska and into the western coast line of Canada and the lower United States. These forces are the passage of the Pacific crustal plate beneath the North American plate. They move at about the rate of growth as the human fingernails grow in a year.
So it takes a long time for these mountains to grow. As that huge sheet of ocean-floor rock of the Pacific Plate plunges downward into the mantle of the earth, it shoves and crumples the North American Continents edge into soaring mountains. These also include the most active volcanoes on the North American Continent.
Denali collects lots of snow, which feeds several large glaciers in the area.
To see McKinley up close, look at our Mount McKinley Flight Page. |
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| Denali Can Be Seen From A Great Distance | They Have Signs Pointing Out The Peaks |
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| During August Denali Is Usually Surrounded By Clouds | Only One In Five Tourists Ever Get To See The Peak Maybe We Will Be Lucky! |
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| Looks Like We Are Lucky!!! McKinley On Left, Foraker On Right | Close Up, Foraker Peak |
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| West Face McKinley not my photo | Foraker Peak From McKinley not my photo |
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| Fire Weed | White Flowers |
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