Olson Mountain

Olson Mountain, also known as Mount Olson, is a 7,913-foot-elevation mountain summit located in the Livingston Range, of Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Olson Mountain rises more than above the western shore of Waterton Lake. The mountain was named for a surveyor on the International Boundary Survey, with the name officially adopted in 1929. The nearest higher peak is Campbell Mountain, to the north, and Citadel Peaks is two miles to the south. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Olson Creek before it empties to Waterton Lake.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Olson Mountain is located in a subarctic climate zone characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. Temperatures can drop below −10 °F with wind chill factors below −30 °F.

Geology

Like other mountains in Glacier National Park, Olson Mountain is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. Formed in shallow seas, this sedimentary rock was initially uplifted beginning 170 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust fault pushed an enormous slab of precambrian rocks thick, wide and long over younger rock of the cretaceous period.