Denali

... is the name used for North America's highest mountain by the Koyukon people, who live around its foot. They are one of nine groups of Athabaskans, the native people of central Alaska, each of which has its own language.

The name Denali is based on the Koyukon word meaning 'high' or 'tall', and is often said to mean 'the high one' or 'the tall one'. The other five Athabascan groups living in the north of the Alaska Range use the equivalent term in their respective languages; the three living in the south of the range use names that mean 'big mountain'.

In 1896, a gold prospector (whose name seems to have been lost to history) named the mountain McKinley in support of William McKinley, who was a presidential candidate at the time and became president the following year. The United States formally recognised the name in 1917. In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson named the mountain's north and south peaks the Churchill Peaks, in honor of the British statesman Winston Churchill.

The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to Denali in 1975. The US Board on Geographic Names was asked to do the same, but this was blocked by Ohio congressman Ralph Regula – whose district included McKinley's home town of Canton.

The name Denali was restored at the federal level in 2015, just ahead of a visit to Alaska by President Barack Obama. This drew criticism from several politicians from Ohio.