Trump vows to rename Denali back to Mount McKinley

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to rename the highest mountain in North America, currently known as Denali. 

“They took his name off Mount McKinley,” Trump said in a speech to supporters in Phoenix, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

“He was a great president,” Trump, a Republican, said, adding that his administration will “bring back the name of Mount McKinley because I think he deserves it.”

In 2015, US President Barack Obama declared the mountain's name change from Mount McKinley to Denali, a name used by the Koyukon people of the Athabaskan tribe. The word "Denali" is translated to "The Great One." Denali stands at 6,168 meters (20,237 feet) and was considered the highest peak of the Russian Empire before the sale of Alaska to the US.

The mountain first appeared on maps in 1839. In 1896, it was renamed Mount McKinley in honour of William McKinley, who was then a presidential candidate. The name was chosen by a scientist in support of McKinley's political campaign, and it became widely accepted.

By Naila Huseynova