Central Valley
Gabriel Moraga was one of the first Europeans to see and explore the Central Valley of California (1806–1808). He led expeditions of soldiers to do the first Spanish explorations of the valley.
Moraga became the source of many place names in the region which are derived from the same names of the rivers that he named:
- San Joaquin County, and San Joaquin Valley after the San Joaquin River
- Sacramento and Sacramento, County after the Rio del Santissimo Sacramento ("River of the Most Blessed Sacrament")
- Merced County, and Merced after the Merced River, which he named El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (The River of Our Lady of Mercy)
- Kings County and the Kings River, which he named Río de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings)
- Calaveras County and the Calaveras River or Río de las Calaveras named after skulls found there
- Mariposa County, Mariposa, Mariposa River and the old name of the Chowchilla River, Big Mariposa River, which was named after the swarms of butterflies Moraga found in the region of Chowchilla, California.
Read more about this topic: Gabriel Moraga
Famous quotes containing the words central and/or valley:
“Friends serve central functions for children that parents do not, and they play a critical role in shaping children’s social skills and their sense of identity. . . . The difference between a child with close friendships and a child who wants to make friends but is unable to can be the difference between a child who is happy and a child who is distressed in one large area of life.”
—Zick Rubin (20th century)
“All the Valley quivered one extended motion, wind
undulating on mossy hills”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)