Why is Denali So Tall?

On a recent trip to Denali National Park, I was treated first hand to just how massive Denali is. It’s impossible to miss. With the exception of Mt. Foraker, Denali simply towers over the rest of the mountains around it. And the more time I spent around it, the more I began to wonder: Why is Denali so Tall? It seemed so odd to me that Denali stood out so uniquely from the other mountains in the Alaska Range - or even in the United States. I wanted to know what factors were contributing to Denali’s massive height.

This video is all about what I found. There are two main geological factors at play when it comes to Denali’s height: the Denali Fault and the physical composition of Denali itself. A bend in the fault causes rocks to bunch together, raising Denali to even greater heights, while its granite structure causes it to resist the erosive forces wearing away everything else around it.

Denali National Park was an incredible experience and I knew when I was there that I wanted to tell a story about it here on the channel. It’s part of my larger goal of telling educational stories about protected places here on Youtube. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to the channel! Enjoy!

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