Flin Flon, Manitoba

Flin Flon is located in northern Manitoba. It is named after Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, a fictional character in a 1905 dime novel called The Sunless City, by J.E. Preston-Muddock. In the book, Flonatin, a prospector, builds a submarine to explore a “bottomless lake” somewhere in the Rocky Mountains — but it turns out not to be bottomless at all. At the bottom of the lake is a city that has streets paved with gold. In 1915, a mining prospector discovered large mineral deposits near modern-day Flin Flon. He had read The Sunless City, and inspired by the lost treasure in the book, named his claim Flin Flon. The name stuck. A statue of Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, designed by cartoonist Al Capp, welcomes visitors to the community.