Highest Mountain in the United States Mount McKinley in Alaska is the highest mountain in the U.S. It rises 6,194 meters above sea level. The new official name of the McKinley is Denali. The name Denali is based on the Koyukon Athabaskans people who inhabit the area around the mountain and have for centuries called the mount as Dinale or Denali, which is a Koyukon word for "high" or "tall".