| Mount Childs | |
| Etymology: | George William Childs |
| Elevation Ft: | 6193 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence Ft: | 533 |
| Prominence Ref: | [2] |
| Isolation Mi: | 1.71 |
| Parent Peak: | Mount Pulitzer (6,283 ft) |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | Olympic National Park |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Washington |
| Region: | Jefferson |
| Region Type: | County |
| Range: | Olympic Mountains Bailey Range |
| Map: | Washington#USA |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 47.8123°N -123.5863°W |
| Topo: | USGS Mount Queets |
| Age: | Eocene |
| First Ascent: | 1961[3] |
| Easiest Route: | scrambling |
Mount Childs is a 6193abbr=offNaNabbr=off mountain summit in Olympic National Park in Jefferson County of Washington state. Mount Childs is part of the Bailey Range, which is a subrange of the Olympic Mountains, and is set within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness.[4] Neighbors include line parent Mount Pulitzer, 1.7miles to the north, Mount Barnes, 2miles to the south, and Mount Olympus is situated 5.6miles to the west. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west into headwaters of the Hoh River, and east into Goldie River, which is a tributary of the Elwha River. The first ascent of the summit was made August 6, 1961, by Doug Waali, Bob Wood, and Kent Heathershaw via the east slope.[5]
A peak was named by the Seattle Press Expedition to honor George William Childs (1829–1894), publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper.[6] That peak is today known instead as Mount Barnes, and Mount Childs now resides two miles north of its original position.[6] The name has not been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, so the peak is not labelled on USGS maps.
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Childs is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[7] 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.[8] 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.[8]
The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust.[9] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.