‘Sad Topographies’ Is Your New Favourite Instagram Account
They say to never judge a book by its cover – or a travel destination by its ill-fitting name – but it’s a little hard when your sights are set on a place called Despair Island.
An Instagram account by Australian artist Damien Rudd collects Google Maps screenshots of the world’s most unfortunate-sounding places, collating them into what must seem like the world’s grimmest travel destinations.
“In Australia, like the US and Canada, there are many depressing place names that are connected to the dark history of early colonialism, and the mishaps of explorers and settlers,” Rudd told Quartz.
The idea to collect odd-sounding destinations came to Rudd after he made his first discovery: Mount Hopeless in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, which was named by an explorer for its barren landscape. Since then, Rudd’s been hooked, posting place name after place name on his Instagram account @sadtopographies. Check out some of the best below.
[related_articles]38174[/related_articles]Nowhere Else, Tasmania, Australia #nowhereelse
A photo posted by @sadtopographies on
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