1500 California Place Names. William Bright

VISTA (choo luh VIS tuh) [San Diego Co.]. The name, applied in 1888, is intended to be Spanish for “pretty view.”

      CHUMASH (CHOO mash). A cover term for several related tribes and languages of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties—famous for their seagoing canoes, made of rough-hewn planks, drilled and sewn together with vines, then caulked with asphalt. Different groups are distinguished by their mission associations, such as Obispeño, Purisimeño, Ineseño, and Barbareño. Chumash originally referred to the group living on the Channel Islands. All the Chumashan languages are now extinct. There is a Chumash Peak in San Luis Obispo County.

      CIENEGA (see EN uh guh) CREEK [San Benito Co.]. The Spanish term ciénega (with the alternative form ciénaga) refers to a marsh or a marshy meadow. It occurs in a variety of place names, including Cienaga Seca (SAY kuh) [San Bernardino Co.], meaning “dry meadow,” and La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles.

      CISCO [Placer Co.]. Named by the Central Pacific Railroad in honor of John J. Cisco, treasurer of the company.

      CLEAR LAKE [Lake Co.]. Called Laguna Grande, “big lake,” in Spanish times; the present name first appeared in 1851.

      CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST [Orange, Riverside, San Diego Cos.]. Named in 1908 in memory of President Grover Cleveland, a week after his death.

      CLIKAPUDI (KLIK uh poo dee) CREEK [Shasta Co.]. From Wintu łikup’uri, “a fight.”

      CLOVIS (KLOH vuhs) [Fresno Co.]. Named in 1889 for the ranch owner Clovis Cole.

      COACHELLA (koh CHEL uh, koh uh CHEL uh) VALLEY [Riverside Co.]. Earlier called the Cahuilla Valley, after the Indian tribe. The change to Coachella around 1900 may have been influenced by confusion with Spanish conchilla, “little shell.”

      COALINGA (koh uh LING guh) [Fresno Co.]. Originally called Coaling Station by the Southern Pacific Railway; the name was then Hispanicized by combining coaling with -a.

      COCHES (KOH chuhs) CANYON [San Diego Co.]. From a Mexican Spanish word for “pigs.”

      COCOPA (KOH koh pah). The name of an Indian tribe living in Imperial County and in adjacent areas of Arizona and Mexico, and their language, which belongs to the Yuman family; their name for themselves is kokwapá. The Cocopah Mountains are named for this tribe.

      COLFAX [Placer Co.]. Named in 1865 in honor of the visit of Schuyler Colfax, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

      COLLAYOMI (kah lee YOH mee) VALLEY [Lake Co.]. Probably reflects a Spanish spelling of Lake Miwok koyáa-yomi, “song place.”

      COLMA (KOHL muh) [San Mateo Co.]. The name dates from 1872 and may be from the town of Colma in Switzerland. However, in the San Francisco dialect of the Costanoan Indians, kolma means “moon.”

      COLOMA (kuh LOH muh) [El Dorado Co.]. From the name of a Nisenan (Southern Maidu) village, given in 1848 as Culloma. The town grew up around Sutter’s mill after the discovery of gold in 1848.

      COLORADO (kah luh RAD oh) RIVER. The Spanish term meaning “red” was applied to the river in 1604, during the exploration of Arizona, referring to the reddish-brown color of the water. The river forms the boundary between California and Arizona; the state of Colorado is so named because the headwaters of the river are there.

      COLTON [San Bernardino Co.]. Named in 1875 for David D. Colton, an official of the Central Pacific Railroad.

      COLUMBIA [Tuolumne Co.]. The name of this historic Gold Rush town, now reconstructed and restored as a state park, reflects the poetic term for America, derived from the name of Columbus.

      COLUSA (kuh LOO suh). The name of a Patwin Indian village, recorded in 1821 as Coru. The town and county were founded in 1850 with the name Colusi, which was changed to its present form in 1854.

      COMPTCHE (KAHMP chee) [Mendocino Co.]. Probably an Indian name, possibly from the Porno village komacho.