# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/81 "2014-02-04T23:26:55Z")
Desolation Islands aka the Kerguelen Archipelago [Kerguelen Islands - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerguelen_Islands) come close for me. Also my ideal setting for a Bond super villain lair, very weird place. Peter ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/82 "2014-02-05T01:13:20Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > How about “[The Big Tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tetons)”? Those are why [Cock Rock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster_Rock_State_Park) stands up so straight… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/83 "2014-02-05T07:31:11Z")
A place I just came across: [The Dead Mountains](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Mountains). The perfect name for the lair of a necromantic horde if it was fictional. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/84 "2014-02-05T07:40:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > 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. Yes, but there are other places called Matanza which refer to the location downwind of the village where collective butcherings would take place, rather than at the local _era_ (the location where cereal was separated from chaff and so forth, and which often ended up becoming the village square). I guess that one you linked helps explain why it’s usually SSL foreigners who find the name horrible and even offensive: they’re familiar with the word as massacre but not as butchering. ---
**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 5, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/85 "2014-02-05T15:10:03Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I guess that one you linked helps explain why it’s usually SSL foreigners who find the name horrible and even offensive: they’re familiar with the word as massacre but not as butchering. “Slaughterhouse” (or I guess more exactly “slaughtering place”) is not exactly regarded as the most upscale place name either.😉 Matanzas fits the OP regardless of whether it’s people or animals being slaughtered. The ruins of Panama Viejo have a [Puente de Matadero](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puente_del_Matadero_Panam%C3%A1_Viejo.JPG) (Slaughterhouse Bridge). I see there is one in Madrid as well. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/86 "2014-02-05T15:49:44Z")
If you know French, here’s a [place-name lookup](http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/CT/toposweb/recherche.aspx)for Quebec. There’s a surprising number of places with death (“mort”) in the name, including (translated) Dead Horse Bay. To be less morbid, there’s even more names with love (“amour”) in them, including multiple Love Lakes. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/87 "2014-02-05T21:38:21Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Lots of them in Utah: Hell’s Half Acre, Devil’s Garden, Hell’s Backbone, Poison Springs, Desolation Canyon and my personal favorite, Box Death Hollow. Poison Creek runs through Park City, UT. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/88 "2014-02-06T07:55:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The ruins of Panama Viejo have a [Puente de Matadero](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puente_del_Matadero_Panam%C3%A1_Viejo.JPG) (Slaughterhouse Bridge). I see there is one in Madrid as well. delllllll! It’s even right in the link! I also know boroughs called Matadero, Azucarera (sugar factory), Traslapuente (past the bridge), Left Side (most of the city being on the river’s right side as the water flows), Las Fuentes (fountains, springs), Tejerías (gable factories) or Arrabal (socioeconomic meaning similar to what in the US is a barrio) and tons of streets named after the trades that were based there: Carnicerías (butcher shops), Herrerrías (smithies), Alfareros (potters)… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/89 "2014-02-06T10:20:35Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Bonus points if you’ve had intercourse in Intercourse, PA. Bonus bonus points if you’ve had intercourse with your Pa in Intercourse, PA. ---
**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 6, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/90 "2014-02-06T14:42:30Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > delllllll! How is that pronounced? deyyy? 😉 Sorry for the typo. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/91 "2014-02-06T20:59:37Z")
I used to take a regular trip though Arizona on which the highway signs announced exits for such places as Dead Man Wash, Horsethief Basin, Big Bug Creek, Bloody Basin, and Dead Horse Ranch (a state park). ---
**Author:** ![meenie7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@meenie7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meenie7)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/92 "2014-02-06T21:40:12Z")
[Mount Asphyxia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Asphyxia) in the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica; it’s named that because volcanic fumes mixed with the smell of penguin poop really can overwhelm visitors! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/93 "2014-02-06T23:32:52Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The [Skeleton Coast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_Coast) in Namibia. My wallmap of Southern Africa claims that the Afrikaans name for the Skeleton Coast (or part of it) is _Seekus van die Dood_, i.e. “Coast of the Dead”, which is even more fantasy-like. Other good Afrikaans placenames from Southern Africa: [_Swartland_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swartland) (“Black Land”), [_Drakensberg_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakensberg) (“Dragon Mountains”), [_Groot-Swartberg_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swartberg) (“Great Black Mountains”). I particularly like _Seweweekspoort_ (“Seven Weeks Gorge”). South Africa also has a “[Blood River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_River)”. And there’s “[Devil’s Peak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Peak_(Cape_Town))” in Cape Town. In fact, the name “[Cape of Good Hope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_of_Good_Hope)” is itself pretty fantasy-like. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/94 "2014-02-07T00:50:38Z")
Jersey Shore…A town in north-central Pennsylvania. > **[Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania)** > > Jersey Shore is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is on the West Branch Susquehanna River, 15 miles (24 km) west by south of Williamsport. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the past, Jersey Shore held farms, railroad shops, cigar factories, a foundry, and a large silk mill. The population was 4,158 at the 2020 census. > Jersey Shore was incorporated as a borough on March 15, 1826. The history of Jersey Shore begins about 5... No sand, boardwalk, or Snooki. ---
**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 7, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/95 "2014-02-07T01:44:52Z")
While it doesn’t have negative connotations, I always thought the town of [Moose Factory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_Factory), Ontario, sounded rather fantastical. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/96 "2014-02-07T13:21:22Z")
In Waukesha County Wisconsin, the **Sherwood Forest subdivision**. Which, oddly, wasn’t named for Robin Hood’s old digs. The developer was Mr Sherwood. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/97 "2014-02-07T14:50:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Iceland And its capital city, Smoke Cove. There’s a street in Las Cruces, New Mexico named Jornada Road. It follows the route of a much older Spanish road named Jornada Del Muerto - Journey of the Dead. ---
**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 7, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/98 "2014-02-07T18:39:51Z")
[Popocatépetl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popocat%C3%A9petl) in Mexico means “smoking mountain” in Nahautl. The [Mosquito Coast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_Coast) (and the Golfo de los Mosquitos in Panama), although the name actually comes from an Indian tribe instead of biting insects. Boca del Drago (“Dragon’s Mouth”), a channel in Panama, in Bocas del Toro (“Bull’s Mouth”) province. ---
**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 7, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/99 "2014-02-07T19:53:10Z")
There’s also [Boca Raton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boca_Raton,_Florida), “Rat’s Mouth”. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306/100 "2014-02-08T12:09:05Z")
My brother-in-law lives on Tumblebrook Lane in the town of Rocky Hill. I suspect his neighbors are hobbits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-land-style-place-names-in-real-life/680306.md?page=6)