# Fantasy-land style place names in real life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306 "2014-02-01T21:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/61 "2014-02-03T06:42:44Z")
While not all that dire, but still not terribly desireable either, there are some names on the Peninsula in the Bay Area involving “Pulgas” - a major street called “Alameda de las Pulgas”, the Pulgas Water Temple, etc. They derive from the name of the old Spanish land grant that covered the area - Rancho de las Pulgas. “Pulgas” means “fleas”. (There are conflicting stories about where the name came from. One states that the Ohlone Indian’s name for their settlement in the area was “Place of the Vermin”, which the Spanish translated as “fleas”. Another states that the Spanish explorers found an old Ohlone encampment they attempted to occupy massively infested with fleas.) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/62 "2014-02-03T07:52:34Z")
Sunrise Maryland seems wonderfully evocative. Although about the only thing in American Corners Maryland is a store it sounds like a stereotypical 50’s town. Maybe it’s a little morbid but I always thought that the name Fresh Kills was a great name for the final resting place of the World Trade Center rubble. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/63 "2014-02-03T22:08:24Z")
There’s a wonderful map out there on the net somewhere, with location names ‘translated’ using the etymology of the words that make them up. They sound well and truly fantastical. Ah, [there it is](http://www.kalimedia.com/Atlas_of_True_Names.html). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/64 "2014-02-03T23:27:13Z")
The American West is lousy with this sort of name. [The Scablands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scablands) in Eastern Washington. [Dry Falls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_Falls), also in Eastern Washington. It’s a waterfall that doesn’t exist anymore. [Craters of the Moon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craters_of_the_Moon_National_Monument), in Idaho. [The Painted Desert](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_Desert,_Arizona) in Arizona. [White Sands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Monument) in New Mexico. [Badwater Basin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badwater_Basin), in, you know, Death Valley. [Funeral Mountains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_Mountains), also in Death Valley. [The Devil’s Golf Course](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Golf_Course). Death Valley. Also [Zzyzx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zzyzx,_California) California, which is a different sort of Fantasy Name. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/65 "2014-02-03T23:50:06Z")
Seriously though, a lot of place names (“toponyms” if you wanna get fancy) really follow Fantasy Naming Conventions, at least in an older version of the local language. And so you have a world stuffed examples like Black Forests and Mother Mountains and Middle Seas and [HillHillHill Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpenhow_hill). [Here’s a fun list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tautological_place_names)–tautological names, where the name in one language is imported and then “river” or “hill” or whatever is added on. Lots of rivers in interior Alaska are called “The Xxxxxna River”, where the Athabaskan Indian root “Na” means river. So Chena River, Tanana River, Chitna River, Nenana River, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/66 "2014-02-03T23:53:45Z")
Not places you can walk to, but… I always thought the “Fields of Forel” sounded somewhat fantastical. It’s a real place, if only in our heads… > **[Fields of Forel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_of_Forel)** > > The fields of Forel are areas in a deep part of the brain known as the diencephalon. They are below the thalamus and consist of three defined, white matter areas of the subthalamus. These three regions are also named "H fields": > Nuclei campi perizonalis or the nuclei of the perizonal fields (of Forel) are a group of nuclei in the ventral thalamus and are considered part of the subthalamus, they comprise 3 groups of nuclei arranged as follows: > This neuroanatomy article is a stub. You can help Wi... The “Zonular Fibers of Zinn” always struck me as very Seussical. > **[Zonule of Zinn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zonule_of_Zinn)** > > The zonule of Zinn (/ˈtsɪn/) (Zinn's membrane, ciliary zonule) (after Johann Gottfried Zinn) is a ring of fibrous strands forming a zonule (little band) that connects the ciliary body with the crystalline lens of the eye. These fibers are sometimes collectively referred to as the suspensory ligaments of the lens, as they act like suspensory ligaments. > The non-pigmented ciliary epithelial cells of the eye synthesize portions of the zonules. > The zonule of Zinn is split into two layers: a thin lay... ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/67 "2014-02-04T01:29:19Z")
I drive past the Dismal Swamp in NJ on a regular basis. From what I can see it is accurately named. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/68 "2014-02-04T02:14:12Z")
We have Desolation Flat, Dead Man Flats, The Devil’s Head, Mt Indefatigable, Fatigue Pass all in the Rockies just west of Calgary here. I am sure there is more; lots of great place names in the mountains. In town we have the less prosaically named ‘Nose Hill’ but supposedly it is named for a fight that cost someone their nose so that’s got to be worth something. The Blackfoot seem like colourful - and often harsh names for places and even people. Some real eyebrow raising given names in the Cluny area. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/69 "2014-02-04T02:15:32Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > [HillHillHill Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpenhow_hill). Or [the the Tar Tar Pits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits) (sic). That or the real name isn’t very fantasy, but the countless dead are beneath the pitch. And not all may be dead but some just resting… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/70 "2014-02-04T03:56:39Z")
Lots of places named [Dolores](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores) (“Sorrows”) [Cerro de la Muerte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_de_la_Muerte) (“Mountain of Death”), Costa Rica One of my favorites: The [Rio Culo Seco](http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-247802&fid=4808&c=panama) (“Dry-ass River”), Panama ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/71 "2014-02-04T04:27:14Z")
[Giant’s Causeway](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway) - Northern Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/72 "2014-02-04T06:20:13Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > [ > > Originally Posted by Mr. Bill View Post > Seems to me that Intercourse would be GREAT place to live! > > You’d think so, but I think it’s Amish country. Durn it all! I was getting ready to move. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/73 "2014-02-04T16:35:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Matanzas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matanzas)(“Massacre”), Cuba _Matanza_ can refer to that of animals, though: _la matanza del cerdo_, for example (the butchering of the pigs, which back before industrial butchers was a whole-village affair; I’ve taken part in a couple of them and if you don’t geroff my lawn I’ll make you work the mincing machine). Several _Ríos_ called _Seco_ in Spain (Dry River), specially along the Mediterranean coast. _Barrancos del Muerto_ (Dead Man’s Gulch) and _Puentes del Diablo_ (Devil’s Bridge, pretty much any ancient one) abound, as do _Cuevas del Diablo_ (Devil’s Caves). There is both a gulch in Navarre and a town in Seville called _Dos Hermanas_, Two Sisters; for complicated reasons I never quite learned, people from that town are called Nazarenes. Add any rivers in Spain whose name begins by Guadi… to the list of tautological ones: Guadi comes from the Arabic for River. And we also have mountains with a similar problem, such as Montejurra or Moncayo (_monte_ and _montaña_ mean mountain). Sierra Nevada (both the original and the New World one); Snowy Mountain Range. And from my house I can see Sierra del Perdón, Forgiveness Mountain Range. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/74 "2014-02-04T16:44:26Z")
The Middle Ages produced a ton of Villanuevas (New Town) and Villafrancas (Free Town). It also gave us a lot of paired towns and even a famous monastery with “Upper” and “Lower” in the name, including my favorites Cerezo de Arriba and Cerezo de Abajo (Upper and Lower Cherry Tree). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/75 "2014-02-04T17:33:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > _Matanza_ can refer to that of animals, Did you read the link? In the case of Matanzas, Cuba, it refers specifically to the killing of 30 Spanish soldiers by the Indians during the conquest of the island. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/76 "2014-02-04T17:33:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Dead Horse Point,](http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/dead-horse-point-state-park) Utah > > [Starvation Mountain,](http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=32625) California > > The [Cannibal Plateau,](http://wikimapia.org/9339114/Cannibal-Plateau) Colorado, site of the crimes of the Colorado Cannibal [Alferd Packer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alferd_Packer). > > Deadwood, South Dakota > > [Calvary,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary) or Golgatha, “the place of the skull” > > [Great Slave Lake,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Slave_Lake) Canada > > [Truth or Consequences,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences,_New_Mexico) New Mexico Truth or Consequences is named after an old game show. I’ve always wondered about Great Slave Lake in Canada. From the Wiki page, it seems that it is named after the Slavey tribe. Ignornace fought! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/77 "2014-02-04T17:35:29Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Truth or Consequences is named after an old game show. Yes, I know. (I used to watch the TV show when I was a kid.) It used to be Hot Springs. But today it’s the official name of an actual place, so I think it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/78 "2014-02-04T18:51:20Z")
A little more obvious: the (Florida) Everglades, though the name is a corruption rather than a reference to eternity. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/79 "2014-02-04T19:47:51Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A little more obvious: the (Florida) Everglades, though the name is a corruption rather than a reference to eternity. Have you driven through them? The current name is apt. Apt! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/80 "2014-02-04T20:47:00Z")
“The Rocky Mountains”. Yep, those mountains over there are chock full of rocks. There are lots of these that are so familiar that we don’t even think of them as descriptive names, they’re just names. And there’s “[The Great Plains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_plains)” How about “[The Big Tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tetons)”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=5)