It does not appear that Atascadero, Ca. has been mentioned yet in this thread. From a post I wrote about a year ago on the subject of weird city names:
Cities do sometimes have weird, and sometimes uncomplimentary, names. Also in California is the city of Atascadero, which any Spanish speaker can tell you means a swamp or bog or mire, literally “a place where you get stuck” (from the verb atascar meaning “to get stuck”).
The city administration prefers to describe the name as meaning “a place of much water”.
In this city, there is a state hospital called Atascadero State Hospital. It looks like a prison from the outside: Tall guard towers, …
That post, in full:
Senegoid:
Cities do sometimes have weird, and sometimes uncomplimentary, names. Also in California is the city of Atascadero, which any Spanish speaker can tell you means a swamp or bog or mire, literally “a place where you get stuck” (from the verb atascar meaning “to get stuck”).
The city administration prefers to describe the name as meaning “a place of much water”.
In this city, there is a state hospital called Atascadero State Hospital. It looks like a prison from the outside: Tall guard towers, surrounded by a tall fence with razor wire. In fact, it is a prison hospital for the criminally insane. The people there aren’t going anywhere. Truly a well-named, well-located place where you get stuck.
ETA: It’s in the same county (San Luis Obispo) as Pismo Beach. If you turned left at Albakerky on your way to Pismo Beach, be careful you don’t get stuck in Atascadero State Hospital!