Yikes, Washington. What's the deal with all those sad place names?
Amy Rolph ponders the ubiquity of sad place names in the state of Washington:
Anyone who has road-tripped around Washington state might have noticed a depressing trend: Cape Disappointment. Point No Point. Deception Pass. Foulweather Bluff. Useless Bay. Point Defiance. Obstruction Island. Massacre Bay. Destruction Island. Dismal Nitch.
What is it about Washington that inspires such a gothic theme in its place names, Rolph wonders, digging up the reasons behind four of the dreariest examples from the state's collection: Deception Pass, Cape Disappointment, Point Defiance, and Destruction Island. The history of Destruction Island even includes an equally macabre place name in a different language: Isla de Dolores (Island of Sorrows).
If a collection of sad place names is up your sad little alley, check out earlier Planetizen coverage of an Instagram feed made up entirely of sad place names.
Read the full story: Cape Disappointment to Deception Pass: What’s up with the depressing names?
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