Denali is officially 20,310 feet, ten feet shorter than previously thought, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced Wednesday聽. The news came three days after President Obama announced聽that he would officially change the name of North America鈥檚 tallest mountain from Mount McKinley to Denali.聽
The previously accepted elevation聽of聽20,320 feet聽was based on a survey Bradford Washburn completed in 1953, using photogrammetry, which relied聽on aerial photography聽to determine the mountain鈥檚 height. (GPS wasn鈥檛 available at the time.)
To聽determine the correct height, researchers from the University of Alaska聽Fairbanks聽and survey company聽CompassData used GPS devices鈥攃arried by climbers鈥攖o measure the elevation at the mountain鈥檚 peak. The project, , was funded by government聽agencies, including the USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
鈥淣o place draws more public attention to its exact elevation than the highest peak of a continent. It is inspiring to think we can measure this magnificent peak with such accuracy,” Suzette Kimball, USGS acting director, said in the release. “This is a feeling everyone can share, whether you happen to be an armchair explorer or an experienced mountain climber.鈥