Holy Cross Mountain is situated 85 km (53 mi) southwest of Calgary at the southern end of the Highwood Range which is a subrange of the Canadian Rockies.

[6] The peak is set 14 km (8.7 mi) east of the Continental Divide, in Don Getty Wildland Provincial Park.

Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into Stony and Wileman creeks which are tributaries of the Highwood River.

Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,150 meters (3,773 ft) above the Highwood Valley in 4 km (2.5 mi).

[6] The mountain was named in the early 1900s by George Pocaterra for the shape of a white cross which appears on the east slope as snowfields melt in the spring.