If you plan to climb any of the 11 tallest mountains in North America, you’d better hit the gym. You may already know everything about 11 tallest mountains in the world, but these 11 peaks will still give you a workout.
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Before we take a look at the 11 tallest mountains in North America, how do we even measure a mountain? Altitude should be the mountain’s height above sea level, right? But sea level varies and Earth is not a perfect sphere. Today scientists use GPS or photographic techniques to measure with great precision.
To make our list of 11 tallest mountains in North America we looked at the highest major summits of North America, the highest mountain peaks in North America, and North America’s 100 highest.
11. Mount Steele, 16,470 feet
Located in Canada’s Yukon territory in the rugged Saint Elias Mountains, Mount Steele was named for a Gold Rush-era police chief. Its steep angles make it prone to major landslides
10. Mount Bona, 16,550 feet
Alaska’s Mount Bona, also in the Saint Elias Mountains, is a very steep, glacier-covered volcano. An Italian explorer named Mount Bono after his yacht, an Italian word meaning “good,” in the 1890s, but it wasn’t until 1930 that anyone climbed this intimidating mountain.
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9. King Peak, 16,972 feet
King Peak and Mount Steele are neighbors in the Yukon, where King Peak is “climbable” all year round after first being scaled in 1952.
8. Iztaccíhuatl, 17,159 feet
This dormant volcano’s native Aztec people named it “white woman” because of its snow-covered peak. Iztaccíhuatl is part of Mexico’s Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, formed long ago by shifting tectonic plates.
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7. Mount Lucania, 17,257 feet
We’re back to Canada for another jagged Yukon peak, named again by bono Italian Prince Luigi Amedeo, this time for a British ship. Lucania and Mount Steele are actually connected, but their peaks are independent and offer different challenges to climbers.
6. Mount Foraker, 17,400 feet
Mount Foraker is found in Alaska’s Denali National Park, also home to Denali. Mount Foraker’s original Russian name means “Big Mountain,” though Denali is higher! And though Denali has been renamed from its original Mount McKinley, Mount Foraker is still named for a politician from Ohio — U.S. Senator Joseph B. Foraker.
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5. Popocatépetl, 17,749 feet
Mexico’s “Smoking Mountain” is a very active volcano. Its last major eruption was in 1947 but Popocatépetl regularly casts smoke, ash, and rock into the surrounding area. Scientists monitor it closely!
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4. Mount Saint Elias, 18,008 feet
The namesake of the Saint Elias Mountains is the highest mountain in Canada, but climbers are discouraged by its hostile conditions, short climbing season, and renowned steep slope.
3. Citlaltépetl, 18,491 feet
This dormant volcano is also known as Pico de Orizaba, “Peak of Orizaba,” after the town it overlooks. It has a long climbing season and draws many climbers from around the world.
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2. Mount Logan, 19,551 feet
The highest mountain in Canada is named for geologist William Edmond Logan. Mount Logan covers an enormous area and includes many lesser peaks. Because of its altitude and its latitude, temperatures on Mount Logan are inhospitably low even by mountain standards.
1. Denali (Mount McKinley), 20,310 feet
Denali is the highest of the 11 tallest mountains in North America. Denali was its original name, given by native inhabitants of Alaska, until it was renamed for U.S. President William McKinley. But in 2015, President Barack Obama un-named his predecessor’s namesake, angering many in McKinley’s home state of Ohio — and to add insult to injury, the U.S. announced that Denali was actually 10 feet shorter than previously believed. (It’s still more than 750 feet taller than its closest competitor in North America.)
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