Mount Johnson is a summit in the
Olympic Mountains and is located in
Jefferson County of
Washington state. It is situated within
Olympic National Park, and is set within the
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
. At high, Mount Johnson is the fourth-highest peak of the Olympic Mountains, after
Mount Olympus,
Mount Deception, and
Mount Constance
Mount Constance is a peak in the Olympic Mountains of Washington and the third highest in the range. It is the most visually prominent peak on Seattle's western skyline. Despite being almost as tall as the ice-clad Mount Olympus to the west, Mou ...
.
It is the highest peak in
The Needles range which is a subset of the Olympic range. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Deception, to the south.
Mount Johnson is set in the eastern portion of the Olympic Mountains within the
drainage basin of the
Dungeness River. This location puts it in the
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
of the Olympic Range, resulting in less precipitation than Mount Olympus and the western Olympics receive.
History
Mount Johnson was given its name based on what was believed to be the first ascent by Elvin Johnson and George Martin in 1940. However, new evidence has become available establishing that it was climbed by Scott Osborn, Joe Halwax, and John King circa 1935.
Climate
Mount Johnson is located in the
marine west coast climate zone of western
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Most
weather fronts originate in the
Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (
Orographic lift). 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 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 July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.
[Mount Johnson, climbersguideolympics.com]
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Recreation
While not a particularly technical climb, Mount Johnson is a steep and exposed class 4 scramble.
Gallery
File:Mt. Johnson, Sweat Spire, Gasp Pinnacle.jpg, Mt. Johnson summit (upper left), Sweat Spire and Gasp Pinnacle are centered.
File:Gilhooley Tower Mount Johnson Martin Peak.jpeg, Mount Johnson (center) seen from Mount Deception
File:The Needles from Mount Deception.jpg, The Needles from Mount Deception. Johnson in upper left behind Martin Peak
File:The Needles from Elk Mountain.jpg, Mount Johnson and The Needles seen from Elk Mountain
File:Mt. Johnson from Marmot Pass.jpg, Mount Johnson centered in the distance, as seen from Marmot Pass.
References
External links
*
* Mount Johnson photo
Flickr
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Mountains of Washington (state)
Olympic Mountains
Mountains of Jefferson County, Washington
Landforms of Olympic National Park
North American 2000 m summits