Why the county seat is named Delta

The name “Delta” can puzzle newcomers. There is no ocean here, and no textbook river delta. The answer is in the rivers.

The town was founded in 1882 on the low, flat ground where the Uncompahgre River flows into the Gunnison. That spread of land at the meeting of the two rivers is the “delta” in the name. The word described the place, and it stuck.

The town did not stand alone for long. On February 11, 1883, Colorado carved Delta County out of what had been part of Gunnison County, and the young town of Delta became the county seat. Town and county have shared the name ever since.

It is a small geography lesson hiding in plain sight. The same river junction that named the town also shaped the wide valley floor around it, and it marks where the two rivers’ waters join on their way toward the Colorado.

For the town’s own account of its founding and name, see the City of Delta’s history page. For records of the county’s creation, start with the Colorado State Archives.