ALASKA.- As of today, the highest mountain in the United States is now Denali, according to a statement presented by Barack Obama's administration this Sunday.

This mountain used to be called Mount McKinley, located in Alaska and is 6, 194 meters high, but for years it has been known by its local name,

[p]"Denali", meaning "the highest one" in the native tongue of Dena'ina.

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Before it was called McKinley, the mountain was called by its now retaken name, so the decision of going back to its original calling was made in order to preserve its native heritage, as it was explained by the White House through a statement.

The proposal to make this change possible started in 1975 when the state noticed that there was no real reason to called it McKinley. The mountain was given the name of Mount McKinley in 1896 in honor of the United States 25th president, William McKinley, even when that president himself never set foot in Alaska. He was assassinated in 1901,

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Almost all of the opposition to the name change came from McKinley's home state, Ohio, which has been adamant that it's native son get a mountain in Alaska in his honor.

But, in the end, President Obama's visit to Alaska this week was viewed as a perfect way to get than name change off of its to-do list, and so the White House determined on Sunday that it was more appropriate to called by its original name and effective today, changes will be applied to all official government maps, records and documents pertaining to the mountain .

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Elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com