Copper Mountain is a mountain summit located in the southeast portion of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easte ...

, in Mason County of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state. It is situated on the boundary shared by Daniel J. Evans Wilderness and

Mount Skokomish Wilderness Mount Skokomish Wilderness is a designated wilderness area in the southeast portion of Olympic National Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington in the United States. The wilderness area comprises administered by the U.S. Forest Service. H ...

, as well as the shared common border of

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

with

Olympic National Forest Olympic National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington, USA. With an area of , it nearly surrounds Olympic National Park and the Olympic Mountain range. Olympic National Forest contains parts of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jeffer ...

. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Ellinor, to the east. Wagonwheel Lake lies immediately north of the peak.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

is significant as the summit rises nearly above the Staircase Ranger Station at Lake Cushman in approximately . Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

from the mountain drains north into the

Hamma Hamma River The Hamma Hamma River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It rises near Mount Washington in the Olympic Mountains within the Olympic National Park and drains to Hood Canal and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The name ...

, and south into the North Fork

Skokomish River The Skokomish River is a river in Mason County, Washington, United States. It is the largest river flowing into Hood Canal, a western arm of Puget Sound. From its source at the confluence of the North and South Forks the main stem Skokomish Riv ...

, thence

Lake Cushman Lake Cushman is a lake and reservoir on the north fork of the Skokomish River in Mason County, Washington. The lake originally was a long narrow broadening of the Skokomish River formed in a glacial trough and dammed by a terminal moraine from ...

Climate

Copper Mountain is located in the

marine west coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

climate zone of western North America.

Weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...

s originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow. As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

danger. During winter months weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months April through October offer the most favorable weather for climbing or viewing.

Etymology

The mountain was named on July 7, 1890, by Lieutenant

Joseph P. O'Neil Joseph Patrick O'Neil (December 27, 1863 – July 27, 1938) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in several conflicts, including World War I. Biography Joseph O'Neil was born in Brooklyn, New York, ...

(1863–1938), United States Army officer who led the 1885 and 1890 O'Neil Expeditions to explore the interior of the Olympic Mountains.Olympic Mountain Rescue, ''Olympic Mountains: A Climbing Guide'', 4th Edition, 2006, Mountaineers Books, , page 73. Earlier that same year, prospectors had discovered copper ore on the mountain.

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

turbidite A turbidite is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean. Sequencing Turbidites wer ...

, and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic oceanic crust. The mountains were sculpted during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

Gallery

File:Olympic Mountains seen from Union on Hood Canal.jpg, Copper Mountain (left), Mount Ellinor centered, Mount Washington (right) seen from the southeast on Hood Canal. File:Mount Rose, Copper Mountain.jpg, Snow-covered Copper Mountain behind Mount Rose, from Lake Cushman. File:Air to air photo of the Dash 80 FA239925.jpg, Mt. Washington and Mt. Ellinor (top left), Copper Mountain below that to right.
Mt. Lincoln behind plane. File:Copper mtn.jpg, Copper from Ellinor

References

External links

*
Mount Skokomish Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service * Copper Mountain / East Ridge
The Mountaineers
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Copper Mountain , North = Mount Cruiser , Northeast =

Mount Pershing Mount Pershing is a 6,154 ft massif in the Olympic Mountains and is located in Mason County of Washington state. It is situated in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness on land managed by Olympic National Forest. The mountain's name honors Ge ...

, East = Mount Ellinor , Southeast =