A Brief History
On January 15, 2022, the Kingdom of Tonga, part of the Tongan archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, experienced the spectacular climax of a volcanic eruption that started a couple weeks prior.
Digging Deeper
The volcanic mountain involved bears the tongue twisting name “Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai,” a name we believe may be the niftiest name of any mountain we know. Unfortunately, the eruption triggered several tsunamis around the Southwest Pacific, affecting some islands and leaving seven people dead, 19 people injured, and over $180 million in damages.
Some of the other mountains that bear beautiful, unusual, tongue twisting, or otherwise notable names in our estimation include:
Mount Chimborazo, another volcano, this time in Ecuador, whose peak has the honor of being the furthest from the center of the Earth, even further than that of Mt. Everest.
Mt. Popocatépetl, a volcano in Mexico that is adjacent to Mt. Iztaccihuatl, giving Mexico a true mouthful of a pair of mountains.
And Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, a volcano that became famous in World War II.
Some American peaks with funny names include Poopout Hill, Boner Knob, Whiskey Dick, Bloody Dick Peak, and even Ugly Mountain, one we have no desire to visit!
What are some of your favorite mountains with unusual names?
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever visited any of these mountains with notable names?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
McNab, Chris. Mountains: Great Peaks and Ranges of the World. Amber Books, 2023.
Mountaineers Books. Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 10th Edition. Mountaineers Books, 2024.
The featured image in this article, a 1989 map of Tonga, is a work of a Central Intelligence Agency employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a Work of the United States Government, this image or media is in the public domain in the United States.
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