Mount McLean is a 2,427-metre (7,963-foot) mountain summit located in British Columbia, Canada.
Description
Mount McLean is the highest peak of Mission Ridge, which is a subrange of the Coast Mountains.[1] The prominent mountain is situated 8 km (5 mi) west of Lillooet and immediately north of Seton Lake. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains to Seton Lake and tributaries of the Fraser River. Mount McLean is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation as topographic relief is significant with the summit rising 2,184 meters (7,165 ft) above Seton Lake in 4 km (2.5 mi). There are radio repeater towers on the summit.
Etymology
The mountain was named "McLean Mountain" in publications dating back to at least 1895.[4] The toponym was officially adopted as Mount McLean on January 17, 1957, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.[3][5] The mountain is named after Donald McLean (1805–1864), a Scottish fur trader and explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company who later became a cattle rancher near Cache Creek.
Climate
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount McLean is located in a subarctic climate zone of western North America.[6] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Coast Mountains where they are forced upward by the range (Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall. As a result, the Coast Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C.
^Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN1027-5606.