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205 lines
9.2 KiB
205 lines
9.2 KiB
Many towns, rivers, mountain ranges, historic roads and trails and other geographical features in the United States, especially in the Southwest, have Spanish names. This page offers the translations into English of a few of these. Where a Spanish word has multiple meanings in English I have only included that which seems most likely to apply to a place name.
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This list is only a small selection and is naturally very far from being complete. A complete list would of course be enormous. However, I would greatly welcome any suggestions for additional entries (you can EMail me using the link at the bottom of this page).
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Many other place names in the USA and Canada come from Native American cultures or from other nationalities of immigrants such as British, French, Dutch, German and Russian.
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G. Martinez of Montrose, California emailed me to point out that "New World" (North, Central, and South American) Spanish is different from European Spanish, especially the official Castilian of Spain, in terms of speech, spelling and grammar, in the same way as American English differs considerably from its British counterpart.
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Spanish English Comments
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Alameda Poplar grove
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Alamo Poplar (the tree)
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Alamogordo Fat cottonwood Alamogordo, New Mexico was named for the cottonwood trees in the area.
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Alcatraz From alcatraces (pelican) Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay was originally named Isla de los Alcatraces (Isle of the Pelicans) after the large pelican population there.
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Alta, Alto High, tall
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Amarillo Yellow Amarillo, Texas was named after the colour of the clay banks of a nearby stream.
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Amistad Friendship
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Angeles Angels
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Animas Soul or spirit
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Antonio Anthony
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Baja Drop or fall
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Blanco White
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Boca Raton Rat's mouth Boca Raton, Florida was named after the nearby jagged rocks on the ocean shore, though to resemble a rat's mouth.
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Bonita Pretty
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Brea Tar
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Buena Good
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Buena Vista Good view
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Cabo Cape
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Cajon Box, chest or drawer Possibly referring to a box canyon. Not to be confused with Cajun.
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Caliente Hot
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California - The name California was first given to the Baja California peninsula by the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes in the early sixteenth century and was later applied to more northern areas. The word was derived from the name of an imaginary island in a popular Spanish romance of the time.
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Cañada Dell, a small isolated valley My thanks to G. Martinez of Montrose, California for this translation. With a tilde (~) over the n, Cañada is a Spanish word. The name of the country of Canada, without a tilde, is not Spanish - it comes from the Iroquioan Indian word "kanata" meaning "village" or "community".
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Canaveral Reeds, or a sugar-cane plantation Spanish spelling is cañaveral.
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Carlos Charles
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Camino Road
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Casa House
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Cerrito Little hill
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Chico Little stream
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Chino Chinese
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Christo Christ
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Ciudad City, town
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Colorado Red coloured
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Costa Mesa Coastal plateau
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Cruces Crosses The name of Las Cruces, New Mexico refers to the graves of a group of travellers who were massacred by Apache Indians in the area in 1830.
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Cruz Cross
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Ciudad City or town
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D', De, Del Of
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Duro Hard From the common root of "durable", presumably
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Durango Water town From the Basque word "urango". (I realise that the Basque language is totally separate from Spanish, but this entry seemed worth including here.)
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El The
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El Camino Alto The High Road As in the High Road To Taos, New Mexico. There may be other examples.
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El Camino Del Rio The River Road As in the road alongside the Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio, Texas - west of Big Bend National Park. There may be other examples.
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El Camino Real The Royal Road or The King's Highway See separate article.
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Escondido Hidden Probably referring to a hidden valley.
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Estados Unidos United States
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Este East
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Fe Faith
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Florida Flowery The state of Florida was named by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon from the Spanish word for "flowery", possibly due to the vegetation or because he visited Florida in Easter week which in Spanish is called "Pascua florida".
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Fresno Ash tree Fresno, California was named after the white ash trees in the area.
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Gatos Cats Los Gatos, California was named after the wildcats that were once populous in the area.
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Gordo Fat
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Grande Large, tall, great, grand
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Habra Opening La Habra, California is named after a nearby mountain pass (an opening).
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Hermosa Beautiful
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Isabel Elizabeth
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Juan John
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Junta Meeting
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La The
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Las The
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Las Vegas The Meadows The name of Las Vegas, Nevada refers to grassland seen along spring-fed desert streams by early Spanish explorers of the area.
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Llano Plain
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Llano Estacado Staked Plain
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Lobo Wolf
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Los The
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Los Angeles The Angels
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Madre Mother
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Manteca See comment "Rebecca" sent me this comment:
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I'm a Mantecan (Manteca, California).
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The "snootier" Manteca residents will tell you our town was named from mantequilla (butter) as a result of the Portugese dairy trade that was prevalent in this area.
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Long-time Mantecans, however, will tell you the truth: "manteca" means "lard". This was a pig farming town in addition to a dairy town, and yes, it was named LARD! So attractive of a name, yes?
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Marcos Mark
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Maria Mary
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Merced Mercy
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Mesa Table, table-land, flat-topped hill
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Miguel Michael
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Milpitas Little cornfields
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Mirada View La Mirada, California is named for the panoramic view from the hills where it is situated.
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Miramar Look at the sea
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Modesto Modest The name of Modesto, California is a tribute to William C. Ralston, a prominent California financier who declined an offer to have the town named after him.
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Montana Mountain
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Monticello Hill or small mountain Monticello is the name of the house built by Thomas Jefferson in Virginia. It is also the name of various towns in the USA. The word is Italian, not Spanish.
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Negro Black
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Nevada Snow, snowfall, snow-covered
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Nogales Walnut trees
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Norte North
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Nuevo New
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Obispo Bishop As in San Luis Obispo, California
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Oro Gold
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Pais Country
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Palo Stick, pole, tree Palo Alto, California (high tree) is named after an ancient redwood tree at its northern entrance.
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Palo Duro Canyon, Texas (hard tree) is named for the cedar trees in the area.
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Palomar Dovecot
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Paso Mountain pass
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Placer Sandbank (?) The prefix Placer in town names such as Placerville comes from the word meaning a superficial deposit from which gold or some other mineral can be washed - an indication that such activity took place in the area. My English dictionary says that placer is the Spanish word for sandbank and also suggests a possible connection with the Spanish word plaza, meaning place. However, my Spanish - English dictionary quotes the meaning of placer as pleasure, and plaza as square, market, job or position.
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Plano Flat My thanks to Karen Strand for this translation.
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Plata Silver
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Presidio Fort or Fortress Many presidios were built by the Spanish when they ruled the southwest of the USA and Mexico. Some of these have been preserved, for example the Presidios of Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Francisco.
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Pueblo Town, village
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Puente Bridge
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Puerto Port
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Punta Point
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Quinta Country house
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Rancho Ranch or farm In traditional Spanish the word rancho means dining-room, according to my Spanish-English dictionary. In Latin American Spanish it means a ranch or farm.
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Real Royal Pronounced "ray-al"
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Redondo Round Redondo Beach, California derived its name from the way its streets were originally laid out, in a semi-circle.
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Rio River
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Rosa Rose
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Salida Exit
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Salinas Salt marshes Salinas, California derives its name from the numerous salt marshes along the Salinas River.
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San Saint Many places were named by Spanish explorers after saints because the explorers discovered them or founded a mission or town there on the relevant saint's day.
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San Antonio Saint Anthony
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San Carlos Saint Charles
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San Diego Saint Didacus
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San Francisco Saint Francis Is it just a coincidence that Sir Francis Drake explored this area?
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San Jose Saint Joseph
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San Juan Saint John
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San Leandro Saint Leander
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San Marcos Saint Mark
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San Mateo Saint Matthew? (I'm guessing here)
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Sangre Blood
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Sangre de Christo Blood of Christ As in the Sangre de Christo Mountains in Colorado.
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Santa Saint
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Sausalito - Derived from the Spanish for "little willow".
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Sierra Mountain Range
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Socorro Help, aid, assistance
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Sur South
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Tejon Badger Not to be confused with Teton.
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Tiburon Shark
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Tierrasanta Saintly land, or holy ground A neighbourhood of San Diego, California.
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Tonto Stupid
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Vaca Cow, beef
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Valle Valley
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Vallecito Small valley
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Vegas Meadows There is a shopping mall in Las Vegas, Nevada, called The Meadows
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Ventura Happiness, luck
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Verde Green
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Vista View
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San Diego
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San Clemente
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Santa Ana
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San Bernardino
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Los Angeles
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Ventura
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Santa Barbara
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Santa Catalina
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San Luis Obispo
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Santa Maria
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Paso Robles
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Monterrey
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Palo Alto
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Santa Cruz
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Merced
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Modesto
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Sacramento
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Salinas
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San Jose
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Santa Clara
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San Rafael
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Santa Rosa
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Sacramento
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Madera
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San Francisco
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Las Vegas
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Nevada
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Colorado
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La Puente
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El Monte
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Los Gatos
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Los Banos
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Dos Palos
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San Andreas
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El Paso
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La Canada
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Palos Verdes
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Encinitas
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El Centro
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San Joaquin
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San Antonio
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Las Cruces
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Los Alamos
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Amarillo
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El Camino Real
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San Bruno
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El Cerrito
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San Pablo
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Corte Madera
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Mission Viejo
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La Jolla
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El Monte
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Santa Monica
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San Fernando
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San Juan Capistrano
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San Onofre
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La Quinta
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San Ramon
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Rio Linda
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Santa Fe
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Rio Grande
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