Mount Daly (Colorado)
Description
Mount Daly, elevation 13,323-feet (4,061 m), is situated in the Elk Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is located eight miles (13 km) southwest of the community of Snowmass Village in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness, on land managed by White River National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into Capitol and Snowmass creeks which are tributaries of the Roaring Fork River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,900 feet (884 m) above West Snowmass Creek in one mile (1.6 km).
Etymology
The mountain was named in 1874 by Henry Gannett during the Hayden Survey to honor Charles P. Daly (1816–1899), who was then president of the American Geographical Society. The landform's toponym was officially adopted on February 1, 1933, by the United States Board on Geographic Names, although it appeared in publications as early as 1877. There is a Mount Daly in Canada named for this same person. There is also another Mount Daly (12,615 ft) located six miles southwest in Gunnison County which has an unknown name origin.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Daly is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.
