ORANGE COUNTY ALMANAC : Pockets of Dry Land
Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach were once part of an extensive property known as Las Bolsas, which was deeded to Catarina Nieto in 1834 by Spanish Gov. Figueroa.
The word bolsas, Spanish for pockets, referred to patches of dry land scattered across the swampy region.
Source: “Historic Place Names in Orange County,” by Don Meadows
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