La Patera (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "The Place of Ducks") was a historical locale in what is now the area of

Goleta, California Goleta (; ; Spanish for "Schooner") is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 2000 c ...

. Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

, who had a settlement in the area named Saspilil. The

Portolá expedition thumbnail, 250px, Point of San Francisco Bay Discovery The Portolá expedition ( es, Expedición de Portolá) was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European land entry and exploration of the interior of ...

reached the area in August 1769 and gave it the name Laguna, but this was later changed to La Patera owing to the abundant ducks inhabiting the area's wetlands. According to Yda Addis Storke's ''Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California'' (1891), the name La Patera referred to the district comprising the Goleta valley west of Santa Barbara and east of the Rancho Cañada del Corral. Three

land grants A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

lay in this area: the Calera or Los Positas, 3,281 acres granted in 1843; Rancho Goleta, 4,440 acres; and Dos Pueblos, 15,535 acres.

References

Unincorporated communities in Santa Barbara County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{SantaBarbaraCountyCA-geo-stub