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All New Zealand Porangahau The Longest Place Name In The World

The Longest Place Name In The World

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauo tamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronuku pokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Porangahau, New Zealand

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Lew Blank
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Old picture of the hill with sign   Archives New Zealand / Some Rights Reserved
The modern-day sign and the hill behind it   itravelNZ® / Some Rights Reserved
“Longest place name” sign   itravelNZ® / Some Rights Reserved
Description of the origins of the toponym   itravelNZ® / Some Rights Reserved
visited in 1988!   broo23 / Atlas Obscura User
Longest place name in NZ, sign from 1988   Rosemary / Atlas Obscura User
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Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki-maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu holds the world record for being the longest place name on the entire planet, at the length of 85 characters. 

This 1,000-foot hill on the North Island of New Zealand is named after Tamatea, who was a legendary Maori explorer who traversed across the vast lands of New Zealand. To honor his exploits, the Maori people named a hill after him, and to show their true adoration, they used an entire sentence. The 85-character toponym translates literally to "the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one."

Although the 85-charcter toponym is the official name, there are many other versions of the name that are less commonly used - for example, "Taumata-whakatangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-haumai-tawhiti-ure-haea-turi-pukaka-piki-maunga-horo-nuku-pokai-whenua-ki-tana-tahu," which has 105 letters and translates to "the hill of the nose-flute playing by Tamatea - who was blown hither from afar, had a slit penis, grazed his knees climbing mountains, fell on the earth, and encircled the land - to his beloved."

Regardless of whether it's spelled with 85 letters or 105, this hill remains the Guinness Book of World Records leader for longest place name, and has become a tourist attraction for geography and word nerds from across the globe.

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lewblank

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jakeraven1970, broo23, Igdaloff2, Rosemary

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  • broo23
  • Igdaloff2
  • Rosemary

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May 25, 2016

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  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
The Longest Place Name In The World
Taumatawhakatangi­hangakoauauotamatea­turipukakapikimaunga­horonukupokaiwhen­uakitanatahu
Porangahau, 4292
New Zealand
-40.35, 176.55
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