The world's longest place names
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Krung thep mahanakhon bovorn ratanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok pop noparatratchathani burirom udomratchanivetmahasathan amornpiman avatarnsathit sakkathattiyavisnukarmprasit (167 letters)
The poetic name of Bangkok, Thailand, it is usually abbreviated to "Krung Thep," or "City of Angels."
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Taumatawhakatangihangak oauauotamateaturipukaka pikimaungahoronukupokaiwhe nua kitanatahu (85 letters)
The Mäori name of a hill in New Zealand, it translates "The place where Tamatea, the man with big knees, who slid, climbed, and swallowed mountains, known as land-eater, played on the flute to his loved one."
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Gorsafawddachaidraigddanheddogled dollonpenrhynareurdraethceredigion (67 letters)
A name concocted by the Fairbourne Steam Railway, in Gwynedd, Wales, to outdo its rival (below). It means "The Mawddach station and its dragon teeth at the Northern Penrhyn Road on the golden beach of Cardigan Bay."
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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrob wllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters)
A place in Gwynedd, Wales, famed for the length of its railroad tickets. It means "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of the church of St. Tysilo near the Red Cave." The official name comprises the first 20 letters; the rest is thought to have been added by a local tailor as a hoax in the 19th century.
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El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula (57 letters)
The full name of Los Angeles, Calif., means "The town of our lady the queen of the angels of the little portion." Now the city is customarily known as "L.A.," giving it also one of the shortest names in the world.
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Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchau bunagungamaug (43 letters)
A lake near Webster, Mass., whose Indian name loosely translates "You fish on your side, I'll fish on mine, and no one fishes in the middle." An extension of a name meaning "boundary fishing place," it was devised in the 1920s by Larry Daly, editor of the Webster Times.
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Lower North Branch Little Southwest Miramichi (tie, 40 letters)
A short river in New Brunswick, Canada.
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Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asis (tie, 40 letters)
The full name of Sante Fe, N.M., it translates "Royal city of the holy faith of St. Francis of Assisi."
Source: 'The Top 10 of Everything, 2002'
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