Russian River
He Russian River-that astray ribbon of water sprawling from the Laughlin Range to the sea- has long had something of an identity crisis. The Pomo Indians first called it "Ashokawna", signification "east water," fishing its depths for bass and shad. Later, the gens christened it "Bidapte," working the "big river" mouth for chinook. When the Spaniards arrived with colonial zeal, they renamed the river "San Ygnacio," though their motherland grant documents from the era mark the water as "Rio Grande." The Russians who settled its banks called the river "Slavianka" (significance "Slav woman.") When the Indians fled and the Spaniards were banished, those Russians dug in and grew roots. In unceasingly a once their population swelled to a solid majority and the river-after answering over time to more names than a schizophrenic off its meds-was renamed for the patrilineage of its squatters.The river's known history dates back 12,000 years. Elk, bear, mammoth, and mountain lion roamed the thick oak and madrone forests flanking its banks. Archaeologists believe ancient villages here were once home to more than 10,000 people, making the Russian River sphere the most densely populated swath of land north of Mexico.
