Mount Johnson is a summit in 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 (Washington), Mount Olympus is the high ...

and is located in Jefferson County of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. It is situated within

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a national park of the United States located in 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 e ...

and the

Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the activi ...

. At high, Mount Johnson is the fourth-highest peak of the Olympic Mountains, after

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

, 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, M ...

. It is the highest peak in

The Needles The Needles are a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the weste ...

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 A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

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 body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

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 An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

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 ins ...

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 Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

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. It's one of several mountaineering objectives in the Royal Basin area.

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson Mountains of Washington (state) Olympic Mountains Mountains of Jefferson County, Washington Landforms of Olympic National Park Two-thousanders of the United States