[1] The prominent mountain is situated 8 km (5 mi) west of Lillooet and immediately north of Seton Lake.

[4] The toponym was officially adopted as Mount McLean on January 17, 1957, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

[3][5] The mountain is named after Donald McLean (1805–1864), a Scottish fur trader and explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company who later became a cattle rancher near Cache Creek.

[6] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Coast Mountains where they are forced upward by the range (Orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall.

As a result, the Coast Mountains experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall.