Bear Mountain is situated 3.5 miles west-southwest of the community of
Silverton, on land managed by
San Juan National Forest. Bear Mountain is part of the
San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the
Rocky Mountains and is west of the
Continental Divide. Precipitation
runoff from the mountain drains into Bear Creek and South Fork Mineral Creek which are tributaries of the
Animas River.
Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises above South Fork Mineral Creek in approximately 1.5 mile, and the east aspect rises above Bear Creek in one-half-mile. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the
United States Board on Geographic Names, Of the approximately 100 landforms in the United States named "Bear Mountain", this one ranks as the highest elevation. ==Climate==