"In former centuries sugar was not put up in bags or boxes, but was delivered
in the form of a 'loaf' to the grocer, who would break off pieces and sell it
by weight. So familiar was the sight of the conoidal sugar loaf that the word
was applied to any object of similar form. It finally developed into a
geographical generic term, applied to a mountain so shaped, and the map of the
United States became dotted with thousands of 'sugar loafs.' California has its
share of about a hundred orographic features so named. When used as a
descriptive generic term, the name is usually spelled in two words, Sugar Loaf;
but when the term is used with Hill, Mountain, Peak, and Butte, it is usually
spelled as one word. There is, naturally, an assortment of Sugarloaf Creeks,
Lakes, and Meadows, named after a nearby Sugar Loaf."
- Erwin G. Gudde, California Place Names
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This page last updated: Sat Feb 4 12:08:15 2012
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