HOW DID THE UMPQUA GET ITS NAME?

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Many ideas exist about the origin of the word "Umpqua." An Indian chief searching for hunting grounds came to the area and said "umpqua" or "this is the place."  Other natives refer to "unca" meaning "this stream."  One Umpqua Indian interviewed in 1960 believed the term originated when white men arrived across the river from their village and began shouting and gesturing their desire to cross. "Umpqua," she explains, means "yelling," "calling," or a "loud noise" (Minter, 1967, p. 16).  Another Indian when asked the meaning of "Umpqua" rubbed his stomach, smiled, and said, "Uuuuuump-kwa – full tummy!" (Bakken, 1970, p. 2).  For residents and visitors of the 2.7-million acre basin, "Umpqua" has come to mean a land of beauty and diversity as unique as its name.

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