Mount Cleveland (Montana)

Mount Cleveland is the highest mountain in Glacier National Park, located in Montana, United States. It is also the highest point in the Lewis Range, which spans part of the northern portion of the park and extends into Canada. It is located approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast of the southern end of Waterton Lake, and approximately 5 mi (8.0 km) south of the US–Canada border. The east side of the future national park was purchased by the federal government from the Blackfoot Confederacy in 1895 during the second term of President Grover Cleveland. According to the United States Board on Geographic Names, the mountain is named for the former president.

While not of great absolute elevation (the mountain is more than 2,300 ft (700 m) lower than Granite Peak, the highest peak in Montana), Mount Cleveland is notable for its large, steep rise above local terrain. For example, its west flank rises over 5,500 ft (1,700 m) in less than 2 mi (3.2 km); the northwest face, the steepest on the mountain, rises 4,000 ft (1,200 m) in less than 0.4 mi (0.64 km). The other faces show almost as much vertical relief. This scale and steepness of relief is quite rare in the contiguous United States. Mount Cleveland ranks 50th on the list of peaks in the contiguous U.S. with the greatest topographic prominence. The massif upon which Mount Cleveland is situated also includes 10,001-foot (3,048 m) Kaiser Point, which is the seventh-highest peak in the park and is only .67 mi (1.08 km) to the northeast.