| Mt. Blue Sky |
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Name History (Mt. Blue Sky)Title: Welcome Mt. Blue Sky Entered by: BillMiddlebrook Added: 9/18/2023, Last Updated: 9/18/2023 Mount Evans was named after territorial Governor John Evans, instigator of the Sand Creek Massacre, which resulted in the death of between 150 and 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans. Attempts have been made to change the name in Colorado due to the history and actions of Governor Evans. In 2020, Governor Polis established The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board, which included Mount Evans for a possible renaming. The new name was proposed by the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. In March 2022, Clear Creek County approved a proposal to rename the peak to Mount Blue Sky, pending state and federal review. On November 17, 2022, the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory recommended unanimously that the name be changed to Mount Blue Sky. On March 3, 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis formally asked the United States Board on Geographic Names to rename the mountain to Mount Blue Sky. The board delayed any decision after the Northern Cheyenne Tribe requested a consultation. On Friday, September 15, 2023, the BGN voted to change the name, effective immediately. |
Name History (Mt. Blue Sky)Title: Update Entered by: Ritzn1 Added: 8/19/2022, Last Updated: 8/19/2022 The Colorado State Legislature/Naming Board voted to rename Mt Evans. The name accepted now as the official name is Mt Blue Sky, in honor of the Cheyenne Arapahoe Tribes who lost their lives in the Sand Creek Massacre. Governor Evans has long been held responsible for allowing conditions to form which allowed the Sand Creek Massacre to take place. The Naming Board will be working on signage change over the coming months. |
Name History (Mt. Blue Sky)Title: Naming of Mt. Evans Entered by: 14erFred Added: 5/14/2010, Last Updated: 5/14/2010 Sources: Borneman, W.R., & Lampert, L.J. (1978). A climbing guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company. Colorado Mountain Club Foundation. (2010). The Colorado 14ers: The Standard Routes. Golden, CO: The Colorado Mountain Club Press. Hart, J.L.J. (1977). Fourteen thousand feet: A history of the naming and early ascents of the high Colorado peaks (Second Edition). Denver, CO: The Colorado Mountain Club. The peak was first named Mt. Rosalie in 1863 by renowned western landscape painter, Albert Bierstadt, in honor of his wife. But during a celebration in Greeley, Colorado in 1870, Mt. Rosalie was unofficially renamed Mt. Evans in honor of the second territorial Colorado Governor, John Evans (March 9, 1814 - July 2, 1897). Evans was the father-in-law of Samuel Hitt Elbert, for whom Mt. Elbert was named. In 1895, the Colorado State legislature officially named the mountain in honor of Evans on his 81st birthday. Evans is best known as founder of the town of Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), and the University of Denver. |
Geology (Mt. Blue Sky)Title: Mt. Blue Sky Geology Entered by: BillMiddlebrook Added: 5/3/2010, Last Updated: 5/3/2010 Sources: Halka Chronic, Roadside Geology of Colorado (Mountain Press Publishing, 1980) Formed about 1.7 billion years ago, during Precambrian time, Mt. Blue Sky rock is composed of granite that pushed up through metamorphic rocks as an extrusion of magma. Slow cooling of the rock provided for easy identification of minerals like white and pink feldspar, glassy quartz and black mica. As part of the Ancestral Rockies (300 million years ago), the granite was pushed upward and again 65 million years ago during the Laramide Orogeny. Over the years since the general mountain formation, the rock has cracked and weathered. The weathering process has rounded the boulders as the mica grains break down and cause portions of the rock (often quartz and feldspar) to break off. Wind-blasting has also taken a toll on windward facing rock, above tree line. The Summit Lake area was formed by glacier activity which created a large, east-facing cirque between Mt. Blue Sky and 13er Mt. Spalding. |
