If you think Oregon’s place names were carefully chosen for their historical or geographical significance, think again.

On this archived episode of the Peak Northwest podcast, co-hosts Jamie Hale and Vickie Connor dive into the bizarre, often accidental origins behind some of the state’s most peculiar place names.

Generative AI was used to summarize a recent episode of the Peak Northwest podcast . This story was reviewed and edited by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Take Hart Mountain in Lake County, for example. The majestic landmark wasn’t named for any person named Hart, as you might assume. Instead, as Hale reveals, it was named by ranchers who simply couldn’t spell.

“It was originally settled by a couple of ranchers who used a heart-shaped cattle brand, they didn’t know how t

See Full Page