Most of the upper reach was the historic Laguna Grande, now referred to as College Lake.

[4] In 1817 Spanish Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá granted the Mission Santa Cruz padres the right to pasture their horses at the "Bolsa de Sals si puedes five-and-a-half leagues from the Villa de Branciforte".

[5] This bolsa, Spanish for pocket of marshland, was College Lake, named after the polite nickname "The College" for the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum built nearby in 1869.

"Salsipuedes" was a Spanish language expression meaning "get out if you can" often used for rough terrain.

Casserly Creek terminates in a large marsh just south of Interlaken, California, which drains into College Lake.