"Denali" redirects here. For other meanings, see Denali . Mount McKinley or Denali in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America, at a height of approximately . It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park. The mountain is also known as Bolshaya Gora (??????? ????), meaning Big Mountain, in Russian. Notable features Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest. Even though the summit of Everest is about higher as measured from sea level, its base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about , giving it a real vertical rise of little more than . The base of Mount McKinley is roughly a 2,000 foot plateau, giving it an actual rise of . The mountain is also characterized by extremely cold weather, and by an unusually severe risk of altitude illness for climbers, due to not only its high elevation but also its high latitude.