Olympic Valley

Olympic Valley

English

Etymology 1

From Olympia.

Proper noun

Olympic Valley

1. A valley formed by the river Alpheus, Ilia, Greece, site of Olympia.

Synonyms

• (valley formed by the river Alpheus): Alfeios Valley, Alpheus Valley

Etymology 2

Coined by United States Representative B. F. Sisk in 1958. Sisk convinced the 1960 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee to propose this name for the location of the new branch post office at the Olympic village, to distinguish up-and-coming Squaw Valley in Placer County from the more established community of Squaw Valley in Fresno County, which he represented in Congress.[1][2] Based on this recommendation, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) decided on August 28, 1958, that Squaw Valley would only refer to the community in Fresno County.[3] The Post Office Department used Olympic Valley for the branch post office, and by extension it was also applied to the community around it.[4][5][6]

This name later gained popularity as an alternative to Squaw Valley as the pejorative sense of squaw became more widely recognized. In 2022, the local Washoe tribe's Tribal Historic Preservation Officer proposed to also rename the surrounding valley from Squaw Valley to Olympic Valley. The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names concurred,[7] and the BGN officially renamed the valley later that year.[8][9]

Proper noun

Olympic Valley

Olympic Valley

1. An unincorporatedcommunity in Placer County, California, United States.
   • 1963 July 31, “Property Owner Protests Highlands Master Plan”, in The Salinas Californian‎, 2, page 1:

     The letter was from Oakley Hall, who lives in Olympic Valley, Calif.

   • 1976 January 28, “Woman Named To Tahoe Board”, in Oakland Tribune‎, page 24:

     Ms. [Carole] Oronato, a resident of Olympic Valley, also is a former president of the Squaw Valley Property Owners Association.

   • 1984 November 15, “Nordic ski directory”, in The Sacramento Bee‎, page 4:

     Squaw Valley: Located in Olympic Valley off State Road 89, has 25 kilometers of groomed track and 20 kilometers of wilderness trails.

   • 1994 February 8, James, Marty, “Napa amateur wins NorCal boxing title”, in Napa Valley Register‎, page 1B:

     Jon Skaggs, a former assistant golf professional at the Chardonnay Club, has been named head pro at The Resort at Squaw Creek, located in Olympic Valley.

   • 2007, Carissa Bluestone, Paul Eisenberg, Michael Nalepa, Jacinta O'Halloran, editors, Fodor's 2007 Northern California: with Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, San Francisco, and Lake Tahoe‎, Fodor's, Random House, →ISBN, page 377:

     The centerpiece of Olympic Valley is the Village at Squaw Valley … a pedestrian mall at the base of several four-story ersatz-Bavarian-style stone-and-timber buildings, where you’ll find restaurants, high-end condo rentals, boutiques, and cafés. … The best restaurant at Olympic Valley is also the finest in the entire Tahoe Basin, the epitome of discreet chic and a must-visit for all serious foodies.

   • 2010 February 10, Hill, Craig, “A sparkling achievement: Vonn, Olympic Valley's Mancuso finish 1-2 in women’s downhill”, in The Sacramento Bee‎, page C1:

     Julia Mancuso (10), who grew up in Olympic Valley, and Lindsey Vonn celebrate their downhill medals.

   • 2021 October 30, “Three ski resorts open ahead of schedule”, in Elko Daily Free Press‎, page A5:

     In this image taken Monday, and provided by Palisades Tahoe, a dog stands in new snow near a chairlift at the ski resort as snow falls in Olympic Valley, Calif.

2. A valley in the Sierra Nevada, Placer County, California, United States, named after this community.
   • 1994, Sandler, Corey, Econoguide to Las Vegas‎, Longmeadow Press, →ISBN, page 223:

     To go to Squaw Valley, instead of taking Route 267 continue on around the lake a bit to Tahoe City and pick up Highway 89, which will enter the Olympic Valley. After it leaves Squaw Valley, Route 89 will meet up with I-80 just west of Truckee.

   • 1997 January 1, “Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomenona”, in Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena‎, volume 39, number 1, Asheville, North Carolina: National Climactic Data Center, page 22:

     A weather spotter in the Olympic Valley (Placer County) measured 15 inches of snow in a 12 hour period.

   • 2002 December 1, Randazzo, Ryan, “Resort's president exemplifies what's right with Squaw”, in Reno Gazette-Journal‎, page 7E:

     Just about everyone knows the mountains, lifts, snow and sunshine combine above the Olympic Valley to create ideal conditions for skiing and snowboarding.

   • 2021 July 24, Sonner, Scott, “Critics bid to overturn approval of expansion”, in The Sacramento Bee‎, page 3A:

     Opponents say the development will double the population of Olympic Valley. They say 40% of the new traffic generated will travel into the basin, increasing the amount of sediment transported to the lake and raising nitrate emissions — two major threats to Tahoe’s world-renowned clarity.

Synonyms

• (unincorporated community): Squaw Valley (informal, dated)
• (valley): Squaw Valley (proscribed)

References

1. “Tug-Of-War Over Squaw Valley Name Resolved”, in Auburn Journal‎ (in English), 1958-04-10, page B-4
2. Miller, George P. (1958-03-13), “Authorizing Certain Activities by the Armed Forces in Support of the VIII Olympic Winter Games”, in Reports and Documents, 85th Congress‎, volume 5, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1499, page 3
3. Hearings Before and Special Reports Made by Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Subjects Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments‎ (in English), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1958, page 5067
4. “Not Squaw Valley to Post Office”, in San Francisco Examiner‎ (in English), 1959-11-10, page 5
5. California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names‎ (in English), University of California Press, 2010, →ISBN
6. Bryan, Susan Montoya (2021-11-19), “Interior secretary seeks to rid US of derogatory place names”, in AP News‎ (in English), New York City: [[w:Associated Press|]], retrieved 2022-09-17
7. California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names Minutes‎ (in English), Sacramento, California: California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names, 2022-03-25, retrieved 2022-09-13
8. Smith, Darrell (2022-09-08), “Squaw removed from place names across US, California by feds”, in The Sacramento Bee‎ (in English), retrieved 2022-09-13
9. “Official Replacement Names for Sq___”, in Geographic Names Information System‎ (in English), Reston, Virginia: United States Geological Survey, 2022, retrieved 2022-09-17