![]() Monterey Bay, Spanish portmanteau of monte ("hill") and rey ("king").ĭisputed origin possibly derived from the Patwin word napo, meaning home. ![]() Mono Lake name derived from Monachi, a Yokut name for native peoples of the Sierra Nevada. Merced River original Spanish name El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced ("River of Our Lady of Mercy"). ![]() Spanish for "wood", in reference to the forested area of the landscapeĭisputed, but could be a corrupted abbreviation of Bahía de Nuestra Señora del Rosario la Marina, the Spanish name for area headlands along San Francisco Bay.Īntonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain. Spanish for "The Angels", abbreviated from El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the river of Porziuncola). Peter Lassen, a Danish naturalist and explorer. Plumas and Shasta, and now defunct Lake County, Nevada Kings River, original Spanish name Rio de los Santos Reyes ("River of the Holy Kings"). Kern River, named for Edward Kern, cartographer for John C. Imperial Valley, named for the Imperial Land Company.ĭisputed original early settlers believed Inyo to be the native name for area mountains, but this term may be the name of a Mono Indian leader Humboldt Bay, named after Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and explorer. Glenn, a California businessman and politician. Spanish for "northern", from its far northern location.Įl Dorado, a mythical city of gold, owing to the area's importance in the California Gold Rush.įresno Creek fresno is Spanish for "ash tree."ĭr. Spanish for "opposite coast", from its location across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco. ![]() Sutter Buttes, mistakenly thought to be in the county during the county's establishment.Ĭalaveras River calaveras is Spanish for "skulls". Jose Maria Amador (1794–1883), a soldier, rancher, and miner who, along with several Native Americans, made a successful gold mining camp near present-day Amador City in 1848. Some of the other key positions in county government include: County counsel to provide legal services environmental health departments information technology to provide IT goods and services planning department to carry out planning functions probation departments for adult and juvenile offenders public defenders for indigent offenders public works departments for county infrastructure and, social services for public assistance.Spanish for "avenue shaded by trees" or " cottonwood grove."Īmador, El Dorado, Calaveras, Mono and Tuolumne Many of the county clerks are also elected locally. For example, in 54 of the 58 counties, the auditor-controller is an elected office for specified services. There are a number of other positions help in county government throughout the state. In all counties, the district attorneys, assessors and sheriffs are elected countywide and most counties also elect their treasurers. This title may vary slightly among the counties, but the role is essentially identical and this individual oversees the day-to-day operations of the county and the employees. The main executive of a county is its Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). They, in turn, utilize executives to manage the county’s functions. These boards have quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, and executive authority over their respective counties. Almost all are elected by district, except in a few counties. They are governed by five-member, elected boards of supervisors (except San Francisco with an 11-member board as it is both a city and a county). There are thirteen charter counties, while the others are general law counties. Also, counties generally lack the broad revenue-raising power that cities possess. The Legislature is viewed as having broader control over counties versus cities. Primarily, the Legislature has provided counties with corporate powers that are required to provide for the health and welfare of the general public within their respective counties. Counties are authorized to have taxing and police powers.Ĭounties in this state are provided for under the state constitution and the California Government Code. The 58 counties, which cover the entire state, are deemed “political subdivisions of the state” under the California Constitution and they provide services on behalf of the state, such as health and human service programs, as well as countywide services including law enforcement, property assessments, and elections.
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