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patos

Patos is a term with both linguistic and geographic uses. In Spanish and Portuguese, patos is the plural form of pato, meaning ducks. As a common noun, patos can refer to waterfowl in wetlands or marshy areas, and the word appears frequently in place names and local descriptions across the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking world.

As a toponym, patos appears in various locations, particularly in Brazil. Notable examples include Patos, Paraíba,

Patos also appears beyond Brazil. Patos Island is an island in the San Juan Islands archipelago in

The term patos, beyond its literal meaning, functions mainly as a toponym in many Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking

a
municipality
in
the
Northeast
state
of
Paraíba;
and
Patos
de
Minas,
a
city
in
the
state
of
Minas
Gerais.
Another
well-known
geographic
use
is
Lagoa
dos
Patos
(Patos
Lagoon),
a
large
coastal
lagoon
in
southern
Brazil
that
is
one
of
the
country’s
largest
lagoons
and
a
prominent
feature
of
the
Rio
Grande
do
Sul
coastline.
the
state
of
Washington,
United
States,
named
in
a
Spanish-era
context
and
reflecting
the
common
coastal
habit
of
naming
places
after
birds
or
natural
features.
regions.
Its
use
in
place
names
often
signals
historical
associations
with
wetlands,
duck
populations,
or
early
exploration
routes.