Daily Alta California, Volume 1, Number 104, 30 April 1850
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE
On the Derivation and Definition
of the Names of the several Counties
of the State of California, &c.
Yuba. — A corruption of the word “uba,” which, when pronounced in English, produces the sound Yuba. This pronunciation has been latterly so generally adopted that the original word is now obsolete. Yuba river is the chief tributary of Feather river, and was called Uba by an exploring expedition in 1824, from the immense quantities of vines that shaded its banks and the neighborhood, overloaded with wild grapes, (properly called “uvas silvestres ” in Spanish.)
The county which derives its name from the aforesaid river, was created by the present legislature, in compliance with the wishes of the delegates from that portion of the State. It contains ten thousand inhabitants.