Samson Peak was named by Mary Schäffer in her expedition through the area in 1908 to find Maligne Lake. She also named nearby Leah Peak for Leah Beaver, the wife of Samson Beaver. Samson was a Stoney Indian who befriended Mary and provided her with a hand drawn map to assist her with finding the way to the elusive lake. Samson visited the lake with his father at the age of 14, and 16 years later he drew the map from memory when he met Mary at Elliott Barnes' cabin on the Kootenay Plains in the Saskatchewan Valley.[3]
Based on the Köppen climate classification, Samson Peak is located in a subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and mild summers.[5] Winter temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. Precipitation runoff from Samson Peak drains west into Maligne Lake, thence into the Maligne River which is a tributary of the Athabasca River.
^Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN1027-5606.
