Mount Aetna is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States.

Description

Mount Aetna is set east of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in the

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...

which is a subrange of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. The prominent mountain is located west of the community of Salida on land managed by

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Color ...

. It ranks as the 129th-highest peak in Colorado. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains to the South Arkansas River.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

is significant as the summit rises above the river's Middle Fork in . An ascent of the peak involves hiking with of elevation gain. Mount Aetna can be seen from

Highway 50 The following highways are numbered 50: International * European route E50 Brazil * BR-050 Canada * Alberta Highway 50 * Manitoba Highway 50 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 50 * Ontario Highway 50 (Also referred to as Peel Regional Road 50 ...

Monarch Pass Monarch Pass (elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. Location and basic details The pass is located on the Continental Divide at the southern end of the Sawatch Range along ...

Etymology

The mountain is named for its symmetrical profile resemblance to

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

, the famous volcano in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. A visually prominent talus gully on the south slope of the mountain creates an illusion of lava flowing down this pseudo-volcanic peak.USGS, ''Geology of the Mount Aetna volcanic center, Chaffee and Gunnison Counties, Colorado'', January 1, 1994, p. 2.
/ref> The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

, and has been featured in publications since at least 1910, if not earlier.Colorado Geological Survey (1910), ''Bulletin – Colorado Geological Survey'', p. 22.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Mt. Aetna is located in an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

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.

Gallery

File:Mt. Aetna.jpg, South aspect of Mt. Aetna (center) and Taylor Mountain from Monarch Ridge File:Monarch Pass, U.S. 50 Near Salida, Colorado.jpg, South aspect of Mt. Aetna (left) and Taylor Mountain from Monarch Pass File:Mt. Aetna and Taylor Mountain.jpg, Mt. Aetna (left) and Taylor Mountain (right) File:DSCN3696 viewfrommonarchpass e 600.jpg, Mt. Aetna (left) and Taylor Mountain (right) File:DSCN3692 monarchcrest e 600.jpg, Mt. Aetna seen from Monarch Pass File:Monarchpass.JPG, Mt. Aetna (left) from Monarch Pass

References

External links