Place names can be serious or downright comical. Take the naming of the town of Moreno in Riverside County. The developer didn't want his name applied to the town fearing it would later become a slum. Town fathers used it anyway, translating the name Brown into Spanish "Moreno." California place names are often descriptive of the activity that takes place in a town. A good example is the town of Carpenteria. When Portola made his march to Monterey, diarists took note of Indians carving a canoe. They called it Carpenteria, which means carpenter shop in Spanish.