If you’re not following @sadtopographies on Instagram, you should. The account shows the places with saddest and most depressing names on earth.
Examples include everything from Cape Disappointment to Point No Point to Sad Road. And while Americans and Australians are usually thought to have sunny dispositions they also have a lot of unfortunate place names.
21 of our favourites are included below:
1. Sad Road, Lancaster, KY
2. Depression Pond, Dover, US
3. Mount Despair, Montana
4. Misery Bay, Michigan
5. Melancholy Waterhole, Sturt, Australia
6. Gloomy Lake, ON Canada
7. Mistake Island, Jonesport, U.S
8. Little Hope, Texas
9. Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Washington U.S
10. Nowhere Else, Tasmania, Australia
11. Despair Island, Rhode Island
12. Tragedy Pool, Camballin, Australia
13. Misery, France
14. Point No Point, Hansville, US
15. Sorrow Islands, British Columbia, Canada
16. Disappointment Island, New Zealand
17. Hopeless Pass, California, US
18. Unfortunate Cove, Cook’s Harbour, Canada
19. Alone, Brescia Province, Italy
20. Calamity Lake, Crystal Bay, U.S
21. Termination Point, Washington, U.S
6. Gloomy Lake, ON Canada
7. Mistake Island, Jonesport, U.S
8. Little Hope, Texas
9. Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Washington U.S
10. Nowhere Else, Tasmania, Australia
11. Despair Island, Rhode Island
12. Tragedy Pool, Camballin, Australia
13. Misery, France
14. Point No Point, Hansville, US
15. Sorrow Islands, British Columbia, Canada
16. Disappointment Island, New Zealand
17. Hopeless Pass, California, US
18. Unfortunate Cove, Cook’s Harbour, Canada
19. Alone, Brescia Province, Italy
20. Calamity Lake, Crystal Bay, U.S
21. Termination Point, Washington, U.S
For more place names have a look at: Most Common Words In Incorporated Place Names By US State.
To learn more about place names in general have a look at the following books:
- Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States
- Why Do They Call It Topeka?: How Places Got Their Names
- Hometown Revelations – How America’s cities, towns, and states acquired their names
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Diego Gonzalez says
October 8, 2015 at 9:42 pmDeception Bridge, WA https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Pass
silvia says
October 9, 2015 at 2:04 pmIn Catalonia there is a village called Ultramort, which means ultradeath
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramort
Eddy Lyons says
January 9, 2016 at 12:59 amCape Foulweather, Oregon
b_C says
May 13, 2019 at 6:07 pmMissed Desolation Sound, British Columbia, Canada
Ultimate saddest place – Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (Think of the implcations!)
b_C says
May 13, 2019 at 6:16 pmAdd: Baie d’Espoir, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Meaning: Hope Bay. Pronounced: Bay Despair. (Newfoundlanders, and their accents, are Canada’s national treasure!)