Rivers rising
It’s been pouring rain here so the flood warnings are out. They’re a kind of poetry, thanks to the beautiful names in this bit of the world.
Tip Jar
It’s been pouring rain here so the flood warnings are out. They’re a kind of poetry, thanks to the beautiful names in this bit of the world.
Sounds like more rivers in your part of the world have retained the names given them by the first people there, than is the case in Southwestern Ontario. The river here was called Deshkan Ziibi by the Ojibwe speaking Anishinaabe, Askunisippi by the Neutrals, both meaning “Antler River” , referring to the forks where its north and south branches meet. The French who came by called La Tranche, “The Trench”, not a name that any future Chamber of Commerce would have chosen. In 1792 (practically just yesterday) Lietenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, anticipating the location of the capital of Upper Canada at this spot, grandiloquently re-named it the Thames after the better known one in the Mother Country. The settlement plopped here was dutifully, if unimaginatively named London, to go along with the “capital” theme established by the river’s moniker. Alas, the cunning plan didn’t work and the capital of Upper Canada was established at York (now better known as Toronto).
A few months ago I came across a website that featured maps and graphs from a “people’s” perspective, from the point of view of the 99%. One of the works in progress on this particular site was a project to produce a map of North America using the place names given by the First Nations who lived in each locale. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to findthis website again. I’d be curious to see if the map was finished. Maybe someone here will recognize this website from my description.
Yes, lotta first people names around here. There’s a move to rename Rainier to its original Tahoma, which is pronounced more like Ta’homa – there’s a little glottal stop. Seems a much better name to me.
Imagine having that many rivers in a single state with water in them!