An Oregon mountain with a very unfortunate name will finally be changed later this year.
The Oregon Geographic Names Board has decided to rename "Swastika Mountain," a 4,000-foot peak located 135 miles south of Portland in the Umpqua National Forest in western Oregon.
The mountain got its name from a rancher who used the symbol to brand cattle -- long before the swastika was adopted as the symbol of Nazi Germany in the 1930's, Willamette Week reported. Nonetheless, the negative connotation remains.
An application for the name change explains a simple reasoning for the request: "The word Swastika is considered offensive for many Oregonians."
Some want to rename the mountain Mount Halo, in honor of after Chief Halito who led the Yoncalla Kalapuya tribe, KOIN reported. Others have proposed Umpqua Mountain, after the Native American tribe indigenous to the region.
According to Willamette Week, the naming committee is likely to select Mount Halo as the new moniker.
A final decision on the new name will be made in December.
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