El Dorado El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden one"), originally "El Hombre Dorado" ("The Golden Man") or "El Rey Dorado" ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish Empire to describe a mythical tribal chief ("zipa") of the Muisca native people in then Spanish colonial province of Colombia, who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with gold dust and submerged in Lake Guatavita. The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time, as it went from being a man, to a city, to a kingdom, and then finally to an empire. A second location for El Dorado
El Dorado, California El Dorado, California El Dorado (Spanish for "The golden"; formerly Eldorado, Mud Spring, and Mud Springs), not to be confused with the nearby El Dorado Hills, is an unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California. It is located southwest of Placerville, at an elevation of 1608 feet (490 m). The population was 4,096 at the 2000 census. The town is registered as California Historical Landmark #486. The ZIP code is 95623. The community is inside area code 530. El Dorado, "The Gilded One", was first known as Mud Springs from the boggy quagmire the cattle and horses made of a