Everywhere I travel inside the borders of Southern California there’s a valley when there is no valley to see. The word itself is often attached to cities even if these municipalities are not located between hills or mountains; Fountain Valley and Moreno Valley are the first to come to mind, but there are others.

valley: a low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it. — Oxford American Dictionary

Southern Californians have liberally applied this word to areas often no bigger than swales; and yes, technically, these swales might identify as valleys of sorts. But are they truly inside the boundary of two distinct mountains?

There are real and true valleys in Southern California. The San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel Valley are first and foremost in this category. And for no reason do I assert that we Southern Californians are the only people to misuse the word valley. We just seem to have forgotten the very large plain that exists between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

The larger picture is how, as humans, we love to place grandeur where there is none. One of the ways we do this is to name a place in a way that belies its true nature, to make it impressive, exciting, a location of illusory intrigue.

I suppose our nature to make the small grand or make the simple elegant is perfectly okay, but is it justified when it comes to the geographical nature of a place? Why must we name a place that undermines its true geography? Why not give a place like Fountain Valley a name like Fountain Plain?

I live in Long Beach, a city with a very long beach located on the coast. It’s a simple name, representing the true nature of the city. In recent years its outer reaches have been subdivided into smaller, distinct neighborhoods (a phenomena not uncommon with large cities). Some of these neighborhoods have given themselves unusual names; undoubtedly to stimulate interest. And yes, these new neighborhoods have names with irrelevant geographic terms.

It seems trivial to discuss the point, but when you’re consistently subjected to exaggeration you loose appreciation for the truth. Let’s make geography one area we remain true to when we name a place. Let’s use its terms scientifically and realistically, not artistically.

Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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