Scientists have downgraded the height of America's highest mountain, Denali.
Denali's new official height is 20,310 feet, which is 10 feet shorter than previous estimates of the peak's height made in the 1950s, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
"No place draws more public attention to its exact elevation than the highest peak of a continent. Knowing the height of Denali is precisely 20,310 feet has important value to earth scientists, geographers, airplane pilots, mountaineers and the general public. It is inspiring to think we can measure this magnificent peak with such accuracy," said Suzette Kimball, USGS acting director. "This is a feeling everyone can share, whether you happen to be an armchair explorer or an experienced mountain climber."
The mountain is located in Alaska's Denali National Park, and sees about 500,000 visitors every year. About 1,200 mountaineers attempt to climb the summit annually, but only about half make it.
"Park rangers have been excited to work with and learn from their USGS colleagues using the latest technology to determine Denali's height," said Denali NP Superintendent Don Striker. "Climbers and other visitors will be fascinated by this process, and I hope our future park rangers see from this firsthand example how a background in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and staying physically active in the outdoors can enable them to do some of America's coolest jobs."
To make these new height estimates, a team of USGS researchers partnered with NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Dewberry, CompassData, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to conduct a precise Global Positioning System measurement of a specific point on the mountain. The researchers reached the Denali summit in mid-June and have been working on "processing, analyzing, and evaluating" the information ever since.
"With this slightly lower elevation, has the tallest mountain in North America shrunk? No, but advances in technology to better measure the elevation at the surface of the Earth have resulted in a more accurate summit height of Alaska's natural treasure," the researchers stated.
Besides getting a new height, Denali also recently was renamed from Mt. Mckinley back to its original Native American name by President Barack Obama, USA Today reported. Denali means "the Great One," in the Athabaskan language of Alaska natives and was the mountain's original name. When European Americans spotted the peak in the 19th century they renamed it Densmore's Mountain, and later on Mount McKinley, in order to boost Republican William McKinley's candidacy. It is rumored McKinley never actually visited the mountain himself.
