Gabriel Moraga a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 army officer, son of José Joaquín Moraga

José Joaquín Moraga

José Joaquín de la Santísima Trinidad Moraga was an early explorer to Alta California...

 a member of Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza

Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...

's expeditions to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, was one of the first Europeans to explore California's Great Central Valley (1806–1808). He led expeditions of Spanish soldiers into the valley, becoming its first explorer. He became the source of many of the place names in the region that derive from names he gave the rivers. These include San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...

 from the San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...

, Sacramento

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

 from the Rio de los Sacramentos

Sacramento River

The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...

 ("River of the Blessed Sacrament"), Merced

Merced, California

Merced is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 78,958. Incorporated in 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government...

 from the Merced River

Merced River

The Merced River , in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It is most well known for its swift and steep course through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, and the...

, which he named El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (The River of Our Lady of Mercy), the Kings River

Kings River (California)

The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...

, which he named Río de los Santos Reyes (River of the Holy Kings), Calaveras

Calaveras County, California

Calaveras County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. As of the 2010 census, the county had a...

 named after the Calaveras River

Calaveras River

The Calaveras River is a river in the California Central Valley. It flows roughly southwest for from the confluence of its north and south forks in Calaveras County to its confluence with the San Joaquin River just west of the city of Stockton....

 or Río de las Calaveras after skulls found there and Mariposa Mariposa County

Mariposa County, California

Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It lies north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,251 up from 17,130 at the 2000 census...

, Mariposa

Mariposa, California

Mariposa is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Mariposa County, California, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census, up from 1,373 at the 2000 census. Its name is Spanish for "butterfly", after the flocks of Monarchs seen overwintering there by early...

, Mariposa River

Mariposa Creek

Mariposa Creek, originally called the Mariposa River, is a creek that has its source in Mariposa near the town of Mariposa, California that flows through that town southwest through the Sierra foothills, into and across the San Joaquin Valley in Merced County, into the sloughs of the San Joaquin...

 and the old name of the Chowchilla River

Chowchilla River

The Chowchilla River is a river in central California and a minor tributary of the San Joaquin River. It flows for from the western side of the Sierra Nevada Range to the San Joaquin River system...

, Big Mariposa River, which was named after the swarms of butterflies Moraga found in the region of Chowchilla, California

Chowchilla, California

Chowchilla is a city in Madera County, California, United States. Chowchilla is located northwest of Madera, at an elevation of 240 feet . It is a principal city of the Madera–Chowchilla Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 18,720 at the 2010 census, up from 11,127 at the 2000...

.

External Links

• Moraga Explores The Valley