Stream Generic Terms as Indicators of Historical Settlement Patterns

Abstract

U.S. geographic names may be analyzed with relative ease using data sorting techniques with the Geographic Names Information System. An intensive computer search of the stream names in each state reveals and locates on base maps, using computer-driven plotters, unusual stream generic terms, such as kill, coulee, and cañada. Tables show the relative frequency and the distribution of toponymic generic terms. The study of selected generic terms in placenames demonstrates some degree of correlation with historical patterns of settlement and provides an instructive, but not always reliable, aid to historical research.