Tuqashi | Tokosha Mountains

Traditional Name: Tuqashi (Dena’ina) 

USGS Name: Tokosha 

Nestled between the Ruth* and the Tokositna* Glaciers on Dena’ina land (currently Denali National Park), the Tokosha Mountains are 6,000 ft granite spires that are known as Tuqashi in the Dena’ina language. Tuqashi translates to ‘objects [rocks] that fall into water’ and is paired with Tuqashitnu (Tokositna River) that means ‘stream of objects that fall into water.’ These names are in reference to the area’s sparse vegetation and the process of erosion that formed this unique landscape.

The name Tokosha is an English spelling and pronunciation variant of Tuqashi, that was named in 1906 by the Cook-Parker Expedition and subsequently submitted to the USGS. 

*Ruth Glacier = Dghelay Ka'a Li'a, lit. ‘Big mountain - Glacier’

*Tokositna Glacier = Tuqashitnu Li'a, lit ‘Glacier of Objects That Fall into Water River’

View the source of this information and learn more about Indigenous place names in Denali National Park here.