A portion of that water that arrives at Grand Lake is then diverted to the east side of the Continental Divide via the Alva B. Adams Tunnel which is bored under Otis Peak.

[7] Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,300 feet (700 meters) above Loch Vale in one mile.

The mountain's toponym was reported in publications as early as 1915,[8] and was officially adopted in 1932 by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

[9] The peak is named for Dr. Edward Osgood Otis (1848–1933), a recognized authority on tuberculosis, who spent time mountain climbing in this area in the 1880s.

[11] 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.