# U.S. Cities named after Chemical Elements **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 21, 2002, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815 "2002-08-21T00:30:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/21 "2016-02-05T15:28:12Z")
[Tin City, AK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_City,_Alaska), which is not populated. Used to be a mining camp back in the day and now just has a radar site manned by a few people. I’ve been there. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/22 "2016-02-05T15:55:51Z")
Already mentioned, Leadville CO. It’s kinda cute, you know those white oval stickers that they use in Europe to show what country the car is from? Well for whatever reason it’s getting popular in the US. People from Leadville are putting these on their cars. -\> (pb) ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/23 "2016-02-05T16:12:55Z")
Carbonite, CO ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/24 "2016-02-05T18:03:24Z")
> [@djbdjb](#): > > Carbon: Il, OK,ia, in, pa, wy Plenty of “carbon” names around coal country. I assume the one in IL is Carbondale? ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/25 "2016-02-05T20:01:36Z")
Alcoa, TN…sort of. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/26 "2016-02-05T23:42:27Z")
There is Iron Mountain and Iron River in MI. There is also Copper Harbor. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/27 "2016-02-06T01:42:30Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ve always said the longest day of my life was driving east to west across Texas on I-10 in 1983. That was back in the days of the Double Nickel. Hell On Earth was 850 miles of bleak Texas at 55 mph on a hot day and no A/C in my car. I love how the anti-littering slogan of Texas used to be “Don’t mess with Texas!” and then they dropped it in favor of a less jingoistic-sounding motto: “Drive clean across Texas!” Yeah no, I’d rather be reminded of all the Lone Star patriots than to be reminded that I still HAVE TO DRIVE ALMOST A THOUSAND FRIGGIN MILES ACROSS THE STATE! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/28 "2016-02-06T01:50:02Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Plenty of “carbon” names around coal country. I assume the one in IL is Carbondale? There’s Carbondale, and Carbon Cliff, both in Illinois. Galena, Illinois is named after the lead and silver alloy that was mined in the area. “Telluride” is a word used to describe an ore containing tellurium. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/29 "2016-02-06T01:53:13Z")
Earth, Texas. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/30 "2016-02-06T02:42:53Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I take issue with the inclusion of Lead, SD on this list. Lead, SD is pronounced “leed” and refers to a mining lead in general, not to the element lead. You might note that in my article, I said “Any placename with the same spelling as an element was eligible for inclusion”. How it was pronounced or whether it was actually named for the element was not a factor. Curium, Cyprus, for example, predates the naming of the element by several millennia. Didn’t bother me; I included it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/31 "2016-02-06T02:53:16Z")
Calcium, NY Copperopolis, CA Ironton, MN Beryl Junction, UT ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/32 "2016-02-06T04:51:49Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > When the IAU took the unprecedented step of naming an element after the then-living Prof. Glenn Seaborg of the Lawrence Labs in Berkeley, for a while he was the only person in the world who could write his address in chemical elements: > > Seaborgium > Lawrencium > Berkelium > Californium > Americium We also have uranium, neptunium, and plutonium. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/33 "2016-02-06T05:33:47Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > On the flip side, the element Berkelium was named for Berkley, CA. > > If you live in Berkley, you can give most of your address with elements: Berkelium, Californium, Americium. \*Berkeley Hafnium is named for Copenhagen. Holmium is named for Stockholm. Yttrium, Ytterbium, Erbium and Terbium are all named for Ytterby, Sweden. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/34 "2016-02-06T05:51:36Z")
Gold Bar, WA is on the way between Seattle and Stevens Pass (a ski resort, as well as a pass through the Cascades.) ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/35 "2016-02-06T17:35:31Z")
Platinum, AK ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/36 "2016-02-07T00:59:19Z")
Ironwood Mich Iron Ridge, Wisconsin ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2016, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/37 "2016-02-07T12:11:11Z")
[White Sulphur Springs, WV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/38 "2016-02-08T04:59:24Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [White Sulphur Springs, WV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) [Blue Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) [Yellow Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Sulphur_Springs) [Red Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) [Green Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) [Black Sulphur Springs](http://www.nps.gov/chic/learn/nature/black-sulphur_springs.htm) [Gray Sulphur Springs](http://www.maplandia.com/united-states/west-virginia/monroe-county/gray-sulphur-springs-historical/) [Salt Sulphur Springs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Sulphur_Springs,_West_Virginia) All of them are (or were) in southern West Virginia except for Yellow Sulphur Springs which is in nearby Virginia. Oh, Black Sulphur Springs is in Oklahoma. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/39 "2016-02-08T23:11:37Z")
What was the deal with Ytterby? Four elements named after it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815/40 "2016-02-09T01:00:27Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > What was the deal with Ytterby? Four elements named after it. [There’s a quarry outside of the town which is full of rare earth metals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ytterby). There were three other elements discovered there - Thulium, Gadolinium and Holmium. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-named-after-chemical-elements/124815.md?page=1)