I live on the verge of one of the more awesomely named bits of geography that most people don’t notice: the Driftless Area. There are some quite beautiful vistas in the region, which is named for its lack of glacial deposits. Rivers, including the Mississippi, cut deep bluffs into the surrounding terrain, and tributaries cut surprising canyons. Almost immediately next door to all that are massive glacial deposits; I live on what is essentially a gigantic moraine, and there’s a lovely valley nearby (Rich Valley) which is bordered by two moraines.

The deciphered message reads:

In Snefflls [sic] Iokulis kraterem kem delibat umbra Skartaris Iulii intra kalendas deskende, audas uiator, te [sic] terrestre kentrum attinges. Kod feki. Arne Saknussemm.

In slightly better Latin, with errors amended:

In Sneffels Joculis craterem, quem delibat umbra Scartaris, Julii intra kalendas descende, audax viator, et terrestre centrum attinges; quod feci. Arne Saknussemm

which, when translated into English, reads:

Descend, bold traveler, into the crater of Snæfellsjökull, which the shadow of Scartaris touches (lit: tastes) before the Kalends of July, and you will attain the centre of the earth; which I have done. Arne Saknussemm

q.v.…

The oral history on this isn’t bad, especially since “buffalo creek” was once called “buffalo’s creek” strongly suggesting that it was named after a person, as creeks in NY once were often named. Collaboratively, there was an Indian named “Buffalo” according to oral history. Other evidence suggests that the city was named after the creek. So, it is perfectly reasonable to say that the most likely source of he name “Buffalo” for the city is the creek, and in turn, the man named Buffalo. There is one story as to how he got his name …. he reminded people of a buffalo … but in a culture where people often get named after animals, that is less clear and less important, and that is probably just an add on for the white people who accept that they name themselves with little consideration for the meaning of the name but often demand of other cultures that we get a detailed explanation.

It is important to note that there is no evidence to support the idea that the city was named “Buffalo” because the animal roamed the vicinity at the city’s founding.

As far as weather, there is great local variance. For instance I live on the island inside Lake Washington called mercer island, and I if I want a change of weather, I can either drive 10 miles west to Seattle or 10 miles east to the Sammamish plateau.

Where the people are situated on the tectonic plates and what altitude they live at determines their climate and overall weather patterns, and there is great variance of those even within a 100-mile radius around here.

Plus we have the mother of all volcanoes in the lower 48, Tahoma (Thunder Mountain) a.k.a. Mt Rainier. The towns Enumclaw and Buckley are sitting atop the volcanic ash plains from previous eruptions, and will likely be in the direct path of the lahar if Tahoma blows again anytime soon.

If the Paradise (= northwest) face of the volcano blows, the force of the eruption will be directed in the direction of Seattle, although prevailing winds might turn the plume back inland. Apparently this is what happened in the last big eruptions, which is why the volcanic plain spread northwest from Rainer towards Tacoma.