Mount Steel is a prominent Olympic Mountains summit in Jefferson County, rising sharply above nearby river valleys within Olympic National Park and the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness. Officially named in 1902 for journalist and mountaineer William Gladstone Steel, it reflects his central role in promoting exploration of the Olympics, including the O’Neil Expeditions of 1885 and 1890 and the founding of the Oregon Alpine Club. The mountain also preserves an episode from that early exploration, when a fire set to destroy wasps burned part of its north slope. Formed from oceanic and sedimentary materials and later shaped by glaciation, it remains valued for wilderness climbing and dramatic scenery.