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Mount Williams (Alaska)

mountain in Alaska, United States of America

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ49055195 ↗
Source-derived summary

Mount Williams is a 7,200+ ft (2,190+ m) glaciated mountain summit located in the Chugach Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska. The peak is situated 30 mi (48 km) northeast of Cordova, and 2.5 mi (4 km) northwest of Mount O'Neel, on land managed by Chugach National Forest. Although modest in elevation, relief is significant as it rises over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in less than one mile from the immense Childs Glacier.

The peak was named in 1910 by Lawrence Martin for Alfred Williams, assistant engineer for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, which built a $1,500,000 steel bridge across the Copper River near this mountain in 1909-1910. The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1930 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Climate

Based on the Köppen climate classification, Mount Williams is located in a subpolar oceanic climate zone, with long, cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. Winds coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Chugach Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Temperatures can drop below −20 °C with wind chill factors below −30 °C. This climate supports the Childs Glacier to the south, and Allen Glacier to the north. The months May through June offer the most favorable weather for viewing and climbing.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Mount Williams (Alaska)” as mountain in Alaska, United States of America. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mount, Williams and Alaska.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1910, 1909, 1930—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Mount, Williams and Alaska providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Mount Williams (Alaska)”, the useful work is to connect “mountain in Alaska, United States of America” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49055195. Authority coordinates are 60.723, -144.901. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1910, 1909 and 1930.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mount Williams (Alaska)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mount Williams (Alaska) primary sources, Mount Williams (Alaska) archive and Mount research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mount Williams (Alaska)”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mount Williams (Alaska)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.