Two Teats San Joaquin Mountain Mon, Jul 15, 2002 With: Ron Burd Kathy Dagg		Etymology Two Teats San Joaquin Mountain	Story	Photos / Slideshow	Map	Profile

Also River, Valley, County, Bridge

"Crespi saw the river on Mar. 30, 1772, when he and Fages were attempting to reach Point Reyes, and he named it San Francisco for St. Francis of Assisi. Gabriel Moraga gave the name San Joaquin to the river when he reached its southern part in 1805-6, according to Padre Munoz's diary. Before and after Moraga's visit, various sections of the river had different names. However, in the records after 1810, San Joaquin is mentioned as if it were a well-known name. The name appears for the upper course of the river on Estudillo's map of 1819, and three main channels of the lower course are shown with this name on the Plano topografico de la Mision de San Jose (about 1824). The accounts of Kotzebue, Beechey, and Wilkes allow no doubt about the river's identity. On Narvaez's Plano of 1830, to be sure, the San Joaquin Valley is shown covered by an enormous swamp, Cienegas o Tulares. The maps of Wilkes (1841) and Fremnt-Preuss (1845) definitely identify the name with the major part of the river. The former has San Joachim, but Fremont uses the Spanish version. The county is one of the original twenty-seven, created and named on Feb. 18, 1850. A San Joachin City existed in 1850 (San Francisco Alta California, Feb. 7, 1850), but it soon vanished. The name San Joaquin Valley seems to have come into general use at the time of the Pacific Railroad Survey, 1853-54. The bridge across the river was built by the Central Pacific in 1869, and the station was named San Joaquin Bridge (Mary Seamonds)."
- Erwin G. Gudde, California Place Names