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Kalamazoo County, Michigan, a little more ...

Kalamazoo County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 238,603. The county seat is Kalamazoo. It is part of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Area.

Kalamazoo is the name of several places in the U.S. state of Michigan:

The Kalamazoo River
The City of Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo Township
Kalamazoo County

All are named after the river, but there is uncertainty concerning the origin of the river's name. A number of etymologies (some of them folk etymologies) have been proposed, all of which suggest that the name was derived from the languages of indigenous peoples. Some of the theories are:

1. It is derived from the Potawatomi word negikanamazo, which is variously translated as "otter tail" or "stones like otters." This could refer to area wildlife. This interpretation was apparently suggested by Henry Schoolcraft.
2. Another popular account is the legend of a Potawatomi named Fleet Foot. In order to win his bride, he was required to run from his settlement to a point on the river and back before a pot of water boiled away. This event is thought to have occurred in 1810, a couple of decades before the first permanent white settlers. The Potawatomi word kikalamezo appears on an 1823 atlas of the area. The word translates as "boiling pot" or "place where the water boils," and refers to the Fleet Foot legend.
3. The "boiling pot" translation may also refer to various nearby bends in the river that resemble pots.
4. An alternative translation of kikalamezo is "mirage" or "reflecting waters," and could refer to the once-clear waters of the river, which are now somewhat clouded by pollution.
5. The current name used by the local Ojibwa and Odawa tribes for Kalamazoo is Giikanaamozoog, this means, "They have been smoked/cured." The explanation given for this name is that the dark waters of the Kalamazoo River have a smokey look/appearance.
6. Yet another possibility is that it meant a place to ford the river. The city was originally established near one of the few places in the area where it was easy to cross by wading.
7. Early official papers make reference to the name of Kalamazoo as derived from Native American language meaning "the area where animals wounded by Indians crawl to die."

See also: The History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan

Additional information provided by: Wikipedia