Putah Creek
| Putah Creek (Liwaito) | |
| Young's River | |
| stream | |
 Putah Creek, UC Davis Arboretum
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Yolo, Solano, Napa, and Lake counties |
| Source | Cobb Mountain |
| - coordinates | 38°48′26″N 122°43′21″W / 38.80722°N 122.72250°W |
| Mouth | El Marcero |
| - elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°32′36″N 121°41′51″W / 38.54333°N 121.69750°WCoordinates: 38°32′36″N 121°41′51″W / 38.54333°N 121.69750°W |
| Length | 85 mi (137 km) |
| Basin | 638 sq mi (1,652 km2) |
| Discharge | for near Winters, CA |
| - average | 477 cu ft/s (14 m3/s) |
| - max | 81,000 cu ft/s (2,294 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
Putah Creek (Patwin: Liwaito) is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass. The 85-mile-long (137 km) creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range. The true meaning of "Putah" in Putah Creek has been the subject of discussion and speculation.
The true meaning of "Putah" in Putah Creek has been the subject of discussion and speculation. It was originally called "Arroyo de los Putos" (1844) and "Puta Creek" (1845), but the "Puta" form was rejected by the United States Board on Geographic Names, likely because of the resemblance to the Spanish word , a derogatory term for a female sex worker. According to Erwin Gudde (1889–1969), the resemblance is "purely accidental;" the revised fourth edition of Gudde's California Place Names has the following entry:
Putah Creek [Lake, Napa, Solano Cos.]. From Lake Miwok puṭa wuwwe "grassy creek" (Callaghan; cf. Beeler 1974:141). The similarity to Spanish puta "prostitute" is purely accidental. In the records of Mission San Francisco Solano (Sonoma Mission) of 1824, the natives of the place are mentioned with various spellings from Putto to Puttato. In the baptismal records of Mission Dolores an adulto de Putü is mentioned in 1817, and the wife of Pedro Putay in 1821 (Arch. Mis. 1:94.81). In 1842 the stream was well known by its name: "I know that the Rio was called 'Putos.'...It is well-known by the name which has been given it" (J. J. Warner, land-grant case 232 ND). The name was probably fixed by William Wolfskill, who named his grant Rio de los Putos on May 24, 1842. In 1843 the name was used in the titles of three other land grants, in one of which the spelling Putas occurs. In the Statutes of the early 1850s, in the Indian Reports, and in the Pac. R.R. Reports, the spelling of the name is in complete confusion. The present version was applied to a town in 1853, was used in the Statutes of 1854, was made popular by the Bancroft maps, and finally was adopted by the USGS.
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