The named ditches and washes on I-15 and I-40

[pdx-wanderer]

I-15 and I-40 in the Mojave have many interestingly named washes and ditches such as "Turtle Ditch"  and "Mobi Ditch"  on I-15 and "Roadrunner Wash"  on I-40. There must be over 25 of these on each route, each with its own unique name clearly shown on a Caltrans bridge inventory sign.

My question is, where on earth did all these names come from?

[Max Rockatansky]

Probably survey teams from railroad companies.  They certainly set up a lot of sidings with weird names.

[roadfro]

The names probably come from a variety of sources, and most were likely not named by CalTrans. The US Geological Survey documents officially recognized names of all sorts of natural features–washes, streams, valleys, mountains, etc.–through a variety of maps and other publications. The Board of Geographic Names falls under their purview.

[usends]

The names probably come from a variety of sources, and most were likely not named by CalTrans. The US Geological Survey documents officially recognized names of all sorts of natural features–washes, streams, valleys, mountains, etc.–through a variety of maps and other publications. The Board of Geographic Names falls under their purview.

This is all true, but the USBGN doesn't impose its own names on local landforms.  Rather, they seek input from the state-level BGN, which in turn typically defers to county-level officials.  And people at that level usually go with whatever name the locals have been using to refer to the nearby wash (or whatever landform).  And that goes back to the first surveyors and settlers in the area, which (especially in the High Desert) would circle back to Max's point about railroad surveying teams.

[GaryV]

There's at least one named and signed ditch in the Seney Swamp in MI's UP:  https://www.google.com/maps/@46.3485913,-85.9885725,16z?hl=en

We've often wondered who Clark was, and what he had to do to get a ditch named after himself.

[dbz77]

There's at least one named and signed ditch in the Seney Swamp in MI's UP:  https://www.google.com/maps/@46.3485913,-85.9885725,16z?hl=en

We've often wondered who Clark was, and what he had to do to get a ditch named after himself.

A link to the picture.

http://goo.gl/maps/h8EZMTAmReypoF9N9

[pdx-wanderer]

Thank you for the replies! I guess I always figured they were named by bored Caltrans workers during construction of the routes.

Some looking on GSV found some more oddly names washes on the western portion of I-40 in Arizona as well.