Sunday, August 2, 2009

Day 56, Alaska, USA

I asked Marti to count the number of states we had had a glimpse of in the United States........and she forgot to mention Alaska....

but I knew that we would be headed in this direction...and so now we are flying over the 50th state.......
WOW....there is Mount McKinley or Denali ("The Great One")

Did you know that it is the highest mountain peak in North America, at a height of approximately 20,320 feet(6,194 m) above sea level and is the centerpiece of Denali National Park??

Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest, although the summit of Everest is higher measured from sea level 29,028 feet (8,800 m). Everest's base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about 17,000 feet (5,200 m), giving it a real vertical rise of a little more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m). The base of Mount McKinley is roughly a 2,000-foot (610 meter) plateau, giving it an actual rise of 18,000 feet (5,500 m).

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