It is set within the Eagle Cap Wilderness on land managed by Wallowa–Whitman National Forest.

[2] The peak is situated south of Wallowa Lake and precipitation runoff from the mountain drains west into West Fork Wallowa River and east into the East Fork.

Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 3,700 feet (1,100 meters) above the lake in approximately three miles.

This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1925 by the United States Board on Geographic Names to honor Benjamin Bonneville (1796–1878), an officer in the United States Army and explorer of the American West noted for his expeditions to the Oregon Country.

[3] Captain Bonneville and his party are credited with the first documented entry into the Wallowa Valley by a non-native in 1834.