Cataracts of the Nile

Cataracts of the Nile

First the wiki link on the subject can be found at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataracts_of_the_Nile .  Many have heard the name Aswan.

Now there are other names used for similar geographical features. For example Louisville, Kentucky was once also called Falls City, and was located by a low falls on the Ohio River. Even now there is a dam and river lock there for barges to use to go up and down the Ohio River, and get by the “falls”. A jogger during low water can jump from one to the other on the exposed boulders in the River bed, while the boulders and even the entire low dam will disappear underwater during high water (usually in the spring time).  A wiki link on Louisville can be found at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville,_Kentucky

A similar river feature can be found at Muscle Shoals, Alabama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_Shoals,_Alabama ).

Where and how do we get such names? Even Falls City Beer has a history. Even part of the Maxwell House Hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_House_Hotel) in Nashville, Tennessee (the one that burned on Christmas, 1961) was terra cotta from the Bannon clay works in Louisville, Kentucky (then called Falls City by many) (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001701467/  http://notetoself.gatheringleaves.org/a-house-divided/the-bannon-family/biographical-sketch-of-patrick-bannon/ ).

So is it:  a cataract, a falls, a shoal, or a rapid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid)?  Are they the same thing using different names, or are they subtlety different?  You decide. 

Not that historical names will change often. I figure we have what we have. Even some may call the city Saigon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City ) in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, but I suspect in a century most will call the city Saigon. Only time will tell.

And the situation does not always have to be large geographical features. Even small local places can have different names, and sometimes different pronunciations, for the same place. Now that can get confusing to many. For example, where I live today is called both the Hemlocks, and Summerville Heights.  What I call the Point is also called Sunset Rock by many. And one local high water fall is called Verble Falls, Verble Cave Falls, and also Roaring Falls.

And in genealogy, my grandmother’s maiden name was Creswell, but at the nearby Family Cemetery the name is also spelled Cresewell, and Chriswell. Now that will make genealogy research more difficult.