| Iron Mountain | |
| Elevation Ft: | 6826 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence Ft: | 266 |
| Isolation Mi: | 0.30 |
| Isolation Ref: | [2] |
| Parent Peak: | Buckhorn Mountain (6,988 ft) |
| Map: | Washington#USA |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | Buckhorn Wilderness |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Washington |
| Region: | Jefferson |
| Region Type: | County |
| Coordinates: | 47.8284°N -123.1101°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
| Topo: | USGS Mount Townsend |
| Range: | Olympic Mountains |
| Age: | Eocene |
| First Ascent: | Unknown[4] |
| Easiest Route: | scrambling |
Iron Mountain is a 6826feet elevation summit located in the eastern Olympic Mountains in Jefferson County of Washington state.[3] It is set within Buckhorn Wilderness, on land managed by Olympic National Forest. It is situated between Buckhorn Mountain, 0.58miles to the southwest, and Mount Worthington, 0.76miles to the northeast. Precipitation runoff from Iron Mountain drains south into the Big Quilcene River, and north into Copper Creek which is a tributary of the Dungeness River. Topographic relief is significant as the southeast aspect rises 2800abbr=offNaNabbr=off above the Big Quilcene River in less than one mile, and the north aspect rises 1700abbr=offNaNabbr=off above Buckhorn Lake in one-half mile. Old-growth forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western redcedar grow in the valleys surrounding the peak. The nearest community is Quilcene 11 miles to the east.
Iron Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[5] Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), 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.[6] 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.[6]
The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.[7] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.