What Is the Highest Mountain in America
America is the world's second largest continent. With an area of over 42 million kilometers (over 26 million miles), the American continent consists of a series of high mountain ranges, among which are the well-known Andes. In fact, this area is where the highest mountain in the American continent lies. In the following OneHowTo article, you'll discover what is the highest mountain in America.
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With an altitude of 6,960 meters (4.3 miles), Aconcagua is the highest mountain in America, or the American continent. This mountain is located in the Andes and the first time that someone climbed it was in the year 1897.
Aconcagua is located entirely in the Republic of Argentina, specifically in the province of Mendoza, 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the border with Chile. It is a very popular mountain for climbers and hikers.
Geological studies have revealed that this mountain was created due to the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate about 280 million years ago.
The name Aconcagua comes from two Aboriginal words of a language spoken by the Incas, known as the Quechua language. In fact, the union of the words Akon and Kahuak means Stone Sentinel.
The highest mountain in America is frequented by hikers from around the world for much of the year. According to official figures, from December to March almost 7,000 visitors climb Aconcagua.
This mountain is not without historical facts. The first person to climb the Aconcagua did so in 1897. The summit was reached by Mathias Zurbriggen from Switzerland on January 14 of that year. The youngest person to reach the summit was a 9 year old American boy called Tyler Armstrong who, along with his father, reached the summit in December 2013.
If you were searching for the highest mountain in America as in the highest mountain in the United States, you should know that this title belongs to Denali, a mountain which belongs to the Alaska Range and is 6190 meters (20,310 ft) tall.
You may know this mountain as Mount McKinley, which was the name given to it in the late nineteenth century by a gold prospector in order to honor candidate McKinley. The U.S government officially changed its name to Denali due to the fact that this was the name given to it by the local Koyukon people, who still live there nowadays.
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