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California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names
Absco, a Southern Pacific station, was coined in the 1920s from the name of the American Beet Sugar Company, which had a factory in Oxnard.
Pochea is an Indian village site in Riverside County, said to mean "where the rabbit went in."
Siskiyou was the Chinook word for 'bobtailed horse,' originally taken over from the Cree language. From Abadi Creek to Zzyzyx Spring, thousands of discoveries await the reader of California Place Names. This is the fourth edition, extensively revised and expanded, of a classic work of Californiana. The curious traveler or resident, as well as the serious student, will find a wealth of description and history in these names, as rich and various as the California landscape itself.
Like its predecessors, this edition concentrates on the origins of the names currently used for the cities, towns, settlements, mountains, and streams of California, with engrossing accounts of the history of their usage. It has been updated to incorporate the latest research on California place names published by regional historians and to include new names that have been added to the California map since 1969. Readers will appreciate the local pronunciation of place names with unusual spellings; anyone curious about how to say La Jolla or Weitchpec can find the information here, in phonetic transcriptions. Finally, the many California place names of American Indian origin--such as Yreka, Shasta, Napa, Sonoma, Tamalpais, Yosemite, Lompoc, Mugu, Coachella, or Poway--receive particular attention from editor William Bright. The dictionary includes a Glossary and a Bibliography.
Pochea is an Indian village site in Riverside County, said to mean "where the rabbit went in."
Siskiyou was the Chinook word for 'bobtailed horse,' originally taken over from the Cree language. From Abadi Creek to Zzyzyx Spring, thousands of discoveries await the reader of California Place Names. This is the fourth edition, extensively revised and expanded, of a classic work of Californiana. The curious traveler or resident, as well as the serious student, will find a wealth of description and history in these names, as rich and various as the California landscape itself.
Like its predecessors, this edition concentrates on the origins of the names currently used for the cities, towns, settlements, mountains, and streams of California, with engrossing accounts of the history of their usage. It has been updated to incorporate the latest research on California place names published by regional historians and to include new names that have been added to the California map since 1969. Readers will appreciate the local pronunciation of place names with unusual spellings; anyone curious about how to say La Jolla or Weitchpec can find the information here, in phonetic transcriptions. Finally, the many California place names of American Indian origin--such as Yreka, Shasta, Napa, Sonoma, Tamalpais, Yosemite, Lompoc, Mugu, Coachella, or Poway--receive particular attention from editor William Bright. The dictionary includes a Glossary and a Bibliography.
495 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 1, 2010
I bought the 40th Anniversary Edition of "California Place Names" because I had to find out what difference there was between it and the 4th edition. There is no difference! They are exactly the same books with the same pagination and the same copyright date of 1998 (with the same 1st paperback year of 2004). The verso information is the exact same (down to the same ISBN number) inside the two books.
The only differences are the covers: the 40th anniversary edition has the illustration of a mountain on it and the 4th Edition has the orange "old timey" map on it. As well, the 40th anniversary edition has "Revised and Expanded by William Bright" on the cover, but inside on the title page it says "Revised and Enlarged by William Bright"---which is the same wording on the 4th edition cover and title page.
With a description that states "This anniversary edition concentrates on the [blah blah blah:]" it's hard not think that the publishers are trying to mislead consumers into thinking this is different in some way from the 4th edition. It is not in any way different on the inside, only the outside. I don't know if the 4th edition is being "replaced" by the 40th anniversary edition, but anyone with a 4th edition should be aware nothing has changed with this "new" edition (which is not a 5th edition as Amazon's info states).
Other than that, this a great reference book!
The only differences are the covers: the 40th anniversary edition has the illustration of a mountain on it and the 4th Edition has the orange "old timey" map on it. As well, the 40th anniversary edition has "Revised and Expanded by William Bright" on the cover, but inside on the title page it says "Revised and Enlarged by William Bright"---which is the same wording on the 4th edition cover and title page.
With a description that states "This anniversary edition concentrates on the [blah blah blah:]" it's hard not think that the publishers are trying to mislead consumers into thinking this is different in some way from the 4th edition. It is not in any way different on the inside, only the outside. I don't know if the 4th edition is being "replaced" by the 40th anniversary edition, but anyone with a 4th edition should be aware nothing has changed with this "new" edition (which is not a 5th edition as Amazon's info states).
Other than that, this a great reference book!
May 1, 2010
I bought the 40th Anniversary Edition of "California Place Names" because I had to find out what difference there was between it and the 4th edition. There is no difference! They are exactly the same books with the same pagination and the same copyright date of 1998 (with the same 1st paperback year of 2004). The verso information is the exact same (down to the same ISBN number) inside the two books.
The only differences are the covers: the 40th anniversary edition has the illustration of a mountain on it and the 4th Edition has the orange "old timey" map on it. As well, the 40th anniversary edition has "Revised and Expanded by William Bright" on the cover, but inside on the title page it says "Revised and Enlarged by William Bright"---which is the same wording on the 4th edition cover and title page.
With a description that states "This anniversary edition concentrates on the [blah blah blah:]" it's hard not think that the publishers are trying to mislead consumers into thinking this is different in some way from the 4th edition. It is not in any way different on the inside, only the outside. I don't know if the 4th edition is being "replaced" by the 40th anniversary edition, but anyone with a 4th edition should be aware nothing has changed with this "new" edition (which is not a 5th edition as Amazon's info states).
Other than that, this a great reference book!
The only differences are the covers: the 40th anniversary edition has the illustration of a mountain on it and the 4th Edition has the orange "old timey" map on it. As well, the 40th anniversary edition has "Revised and Expanded by William Bright" on the cover, but inside on the title page it says "Revised and Enlarged by William Bright"---which is the same wording on the 4th edition cover and title page.
With a description that states "This anniversary edition concentrates on the [blah blah blah:]" it's hard not think that the publishers are trying to mislead consumers into thinking this is different in some way from the 4th edition. It is not in any way different on the inside, only the outside. I don't know if the 4th edition is being "replaced" by the 40th anniversary edition, but anyone with a 4th edition should be aware nothing has changed with this "new" edition (which is not a 5th edition as Amazon's info states).
Other than that, this a great reference book!
April 7, 2013
Excellent reference book and history guide, but most of all, it's just fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews