| Mount Townsend | |
| Elevation: | 6243feet |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] |
| Prominence Ft: | 600 |
| Map: | Washington#USA |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | Buckhorn Wilderness |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Washington |
| Region: | Jefferson |
| Region Type: | County |
| Range: | Olympic Mountains |
| Coordinates: | 47.867°N -123.0596°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [2] |
| Topo: | USGS Mount Townsend |
| Easiest Route: | Mt. Townsend Trail |
Mount Townsend is a mountain in the U.S state of Washington located within the Buckhorn Wilderness near Quilcene.[3]
The Mt. Townsend Trail rises from the trailhead to the summit, a rise of 3010feet. The summit affords a 360 degree view of the area.[4]
Mount Townsend 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.