Mount Nemo is more notable for its steep rise above local terrain than for its absolute elevation.

Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,800 meters (5,905 ft) above the Duncan River in 3 km (1.9 mi).

The mountain was named by Sterling B. Hendricks in 1947 for Captain Nemo, the fictional character in Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.

[1][5] The landform's toponym was officially adopted on November 1, 1963, by the Geographical Names Board of Canada.

[4] The first ascent of the summit was made on July 18, 1959, by Samuel Silverstein, Douglas Anger and Fenwick Riley.