It is part of the Mitchell Range, which is a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada.

Its nearest higher peak is Mount Assiniboine, 14.0 km (8.7 mi) to the northeast.

The mountain was named in 1923 by Morrison P. Bridgland in honor of James Bernard Harkin (1875–1955), who was Canada's first National Parks commissioner from 1911 until 1936.

[2] Bridgland (1878–1948) was a Dominion Land Surveyor who named many peaks in the Canadian Rockies.

[7] Mount Harkin is composed principally of Ottertail limestone, a sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Cambrian periods and pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny.