Califia

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Califia (or Calafia) is the name of a legendary Black Amazon warrior queen, associated with the mythical Island of California. It should be noted however that the definition of black referred to those who were not white in an "us/them" mentality (Polk, The Island of California: A History of the Myth) The legend of Queen Califia appears to date back to the novel Las Sergas de Esplandian (The Adventures of Esplandian), written around 1510 by the Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

The U.S. state of California is thought by some to be named after her (see Origin of the name California). The writer Patrick Califia also adopted her name as his surname.

Calafia is the name of a submerged island believed to exist in the Santa Barbara Channel, between the mainland and the pre-ice age Santa Rosae island.

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