The Merced River flows for 145 miles, from the spectacular beauty of Yosemite Valley all the way to Hills Ferry west of Livingston, where the Merced meets the San Joaquin. But how and when did the river did it get its name? Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots we look back at the names that have graced this waterway. We have Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga to credit for giving us the river’s modern name, and we’ll get to that in a moment. But this story begins much earlier.