Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 5,200 feet (1,600 meters) above the lake in approximately three miles.

The bulk of the mountain is a complex geology of Mesozoic granodiorite of the Wallowa Batholith, limestone, greenstone, and a small relict summit cap composed of Columbia River basalt.

[5] This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1925 by the United States Board on Geographic Names to honor Chief Joseph (1840–1904), leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce tribe.

[4] Chief Joseph led his band of Nez Perce during the most tumultuous period in their history, when they were forcibly removed by the United States federal government from their ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley.

[6] "Point Joseph" is an alternate official name for the summit and "Tunnel Mountain" has also been used in the past.