Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises nearly 4,700 feet (1,433 m) above the Staircase Ranger Station at Lake Cushman in approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

Copper Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.

[6] Weather fronts originating in the Pacific Ocean travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains.

As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow.

[8] The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.