Captivated by names and naming topics far and wide, Zinzin aims to leave no stone unturned. This time, I thought I’d explore a little closer to home, namely among the mountains in our very own Northern California backyard.
To be clear, I’m no mountaineer. My exploration has to do with looking into mountains with cool names. Specifically, toponyms, or place-names, that I find particularly interesting because of their unique look, sound, and/or origin.
By the way, it surprised me to learn that this region is home to nearly 500 named mountains (according to Wikipedia’s list of “Mountains of Northern California“). But don’t worry, my list peaks at 12. Have a pleasant climb.
12 Unique Mountain Names & Peaks in Northern CA
- Acrodectes Peak
- Beegum Peak
- Charybdis
- Hoosimbim Mountain
- Mount Ina Coolbrith
- Mount Tamalpais
- Mount Umunhum
- Mount Diablo
- North Yolla Bolly Mountain
- The Thumb
- Tinker Knob
- Ycatapom Peak
Acrodectes Peak | ak-ro-DEK-teez
Location: Sierra Nevada
Elevation: 13,187 feet
A rare shout-out to a rare insect, this peak’s name comes from the Acrodectes philopagus, a katydid species found only in this region.
The bug-discoverer and the year he or she discovered it remains a mystery. However, in a cool coincidence of shared interest, I came across this excerpt written by American linguist, toponymist, and author, William Bright:
Although the word resembles an Ancient Greek name, it does not exist in the ancient language; it is a zoological name, coined from Greek akros, “peak,” and dektēs, “biter,” to refer to the Acrodectes philopagus, a rare species of cricket found only in the high Sierra.
Source: 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning
Beegum Peak | bee-gum
Location: Shasta Cascade
Elevation: 3,891 feet
A southerner ventured West at some point in early U.S. history and permanently left a piece of culture behind with this name.
As the story goes, when he or she saw this peak, the shape of it’s dome echoed the shape of a beehive, or beegum, if you’re from the south. They also may have found beehives in caves at the peak.
Charybdis | kə-ˈrib-dəs
Location: Sierra Nevada
Elevation: 13,102 feet
American explorer Theodore Solomons must’ve had one epic adventure through this area. In 1895, he named this mountain after a sea monster from the Greek legend of Scylla and Charybdis.
In the legend, these two sea monsters, always close in proximity, are nearly impossible for the protagonist to pass. You can’t avoid one without getting too close to the other, inspiring the idiom “to choose the lesser of two evils.”
Hoosimbim Mountain | hoo-sim-bim
Location: Shasta Cascade
Elevation: 5,364 feet
This mountain’s name comes from a Wintu phrase that means “buzzard’s water.”
Wintu is a language spoken by the Wintu people, an Indigenous, historic Tribe of Northern California.
The first of three Wintu-inspired names on this list of 12, this Tribe had significant influence on naming geological features that define the landscape of Northern California.
Mount Ina Coolbrith | eye-nah cool-brǐth
Location: Sierra Nevada
Elevation: 8,064 feet
The rare mountain (re)named after a woman! It stands out from the mountain-naming crowd in that way, which is why it made this list.
Also, Ina Coolbrith happens to be awesome. In 1915, she became the first California Poet Laureate, which was actually the first poet laureate of any state in America. She was contemporaries with Mark Twain and Alfred Lord Tennyson and went on to mentor other notable American writers and artists.
She even knew Pío Pico, the last governor of California under Mexican rule.
Moreover, she had an arguably even more fascinating childhood, as the niece of Morman founder, Joseph Smith. At age 11, she traveled a pass near the mountain that now bears her name. (Her story is a must-read, when you get a chance.)
Mount Tamalpais | TAM-əl-PY-iss
Location: Northern California Coast
Elevation: 2,579 feet
Known locally as Mount Tam, this is another example of a place-name inspired by the Indigenous language of the original residents, the Coast Miwok.
According to cultural history recorded by Mt. Tamalpais State Park,
In 1770 two explorers, Captain Pedro Fages and Father Juan Crespí, named the mountain La Sierra de Nuestro Padre de San Francisco.
This was later changed to the Miwok word tamalpais, which, roughly translated, means “bay mountain” or “coast mountain.”
Several folk etymologies exist for the name Mt. Tamalpais. For example, some suggest the name comes from the Coast Miwok támal pájiṣ, which means “west hill” or from the Coast Miwok word for “sleeping maiden.”
Mount Umunhum | UH-mə-num
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains
Elevation: 3,489 feet
It’s not a name you hear everyday, but it’s one with deep roots to Indigenous people and culture of California.
Before it was settled by Europeans, Mount Umunhum was home to the Amah Mutsun tribe, descendants of the Ohlone Native American people. In the Mutsun language, Umunhum means home or place of the humunya (hummingbird).
The creation story tells of a hummingbird which carried an ember in its long beak, bringing fire up the mountain to the ancestors. (Source: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space)
Mount Diablo
Location: Diablo Range
Elevation 3,849 feet
This mountain has a rich and storied naming history before it was formally established as Mount Diablo in 1851, as a point for California land surveys.
One story, as interpreted by Spanish records, goes like this:
…the peak derives its name from the reaction of Spanish soldiers to the 1805 escape of several Chupcan Native Americans in a willow thicket some 7 miles north of the mountain.
One story tells that their nighttime escape through the thicket was aided by mysterious lights. An 1850 report by General Mariano G. Vallejo tells of a strange dancing spirit turning the battle in favor of the Chupcan.
Vallejo interpreted the natives’ word for the personage, puy, to mean “devil” in the Anglo-American language. Vallejo’s report could be interpreted to align with Edward G. Gudde’s history of place names.
Well before that, it was known by different names to many different Indigenous tribal groups of California who lived around and on the mountain. The mountain is a sacred part of their cultures and creation stories. This later influenced Spanish place-names as well. For example:
- Tuyshtak: “at the dawn of time” (Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone)
- Sukkú Jaman: “dog mountain” (the Nisenan of Sacramento Valley)
- Supemenenu (Southern Sierra Miwok)
- Oj·ompil·e (Northern Sierra Miwok)
- Cerro Alto de los Bolbones: “high hill of the Volvon” (Spanish name for the Volvon (Wolwon, Bolbon or Bolgon) living on the slopes and peak of the mountain
- Sierra de los Bolgones (another Spanish name for the mountain)
Source: Wikipedia
North Yolla Bolly | yo-lah boh-lee
Location: Klamath Coast Range
Elevation: 7,868 feet
Like Hoosimbim, this mountain’s name comes from Wintu, a language spoken by the Wintu people of Northern California. Yolla Bolly is a Wintu word that means “snowy peak.”
More on the etymology of this place-name:
Bally; Bolly; Bully. All three forms are derived from Wintu buli, “mountain,” and form part of the names of several mountains in Northern California. The English pronunciations BAL ee, BAH lee, and BUH lee, all occur.
In Wintu, Bully Choop means “mountain peak;” Winnibulli is “middle mountain,” and Yolly Bolly is “snow mountain.”
Source: 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning
The Thumb
Location: Sierra Nevada
Elevation: 13,356 feet
Veering from traditional place-name conventions of the time, Windsor B. Putnam made this appeal to Sierra Club members, after he made the first ascent of the summit in 1921.
I hope that I am not outraging the feelings of Sierra Club members and other mountain-lovers in advocating “The Thumb” as a name for a hitherto unnamed peak. Of precedents there are plenty. One only need mention amongst the high peaks of Deerhorn Mountain, Fin Dome, Agassiz Needle, Columbia’s Finger, and a host of others, to realize that many of these are named for their resemblance to natural objects. While these names are suggestive of the precipitous nature of the country wherein they occur, they are often commonplace. I realize that the term “thumb” is open to this objection, and hence my fear of offending mountain-lovers. Let me urge, however, the fact that it is uniquely appropriate to the peak in question.
Source: Sierra Club Bulletin, Windsor B. Putnam’s account of naming and climbing The Thumb
It seems after all was said and done, the Sierra Club members gave Putnam a thumb(s)-up. He earned it, I’d say!
Tinker Knob
Location: Sierra Nevada
Elevation: 8,949 feet
A mountain, a man, and his big nose. Here’s how this naming-story goes (edited for length):
James A. Tinker was quite a character. He was a rough, hard driving, hard drinking teamster who carried freight (via two wagons and eight-horses) and mining machinery to mines below the original Soda Springs on the North Fork of the American River.
He also carried a barrel of whiskey, which he enjoyed on his rides, until one fateful day when his whole outfit didn’t make a particular hairpin curve (bordered by a canyon), which became known as “Tinker’s Defeat.”
Tinker was also known for a very prominent nose that looked a lot like Tinker Knob, a nearby mountain, and so he was immortalized again.
The story above comes from a 1949 speech given by James A. Sherrit. Sherritt’s grandparents were Joseph and Isabella Gowling who owned the Summit Hotel for a time, as well as other summit property, and had arrived on Donner Summit in the mid-19th century.
Source: Donner Summit Historical Society
Ycatapom Peak | waɪˈkætəpɒm
Location: Trinity Alps
Elevation: 7,593 feet
Like Hoosimbim and Yolla Bolly, this is another mountain name rooted in the Northern Californian Wintu Tribe culture. However, I found two different translations for the mountain’s name: “north step place” and “leaning mountain.”
Who Keeps Track of Geographic Nomenclature?
The names of the 12 mountains listed above, along with millions more geographic names, appear in a database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
It’s managed in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), established in 1890 to maintain uniform name usage throughout the Federal government, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which provides the science behind it all.
This is an impressive feat of naming consistency and organization. Does it make naming one of the oldest professions in America?
Zinzin’s Peak Note on Naming
The best names tell a story. Whether it’s a mountain, company, or product, the story behind the name is what connects to humans on an emotional level.
In the case of a mountain or a historic brand, a great name endures in our hearts and minds. It becomes a link to our collective geographical past and part of our current cultural conversation.
For more historic names unique to California, check out:
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