Flin Flon, Manitoba

Flin Flon, Manitoba-Saskatchewan (pop. 7243) is a Canadian mining city on the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. It is located at {{coor dm|54|46|N|101|51|W|}}.

Origin of the Name

The town's name is taken from the lead character in a paperback novel, The Sunless City by J.E. Preston Muddock. A prospector named Tom Creighton found the book in the wilderness. The story is about a man named Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, who piloted a submarine through a bottomless lake. Upon passing through a hole lined with gold, he found a strange underground world.

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When Tom Creighton discovered a rich vein of almost pure copper, he thought of the book and called it Flin Flon's mine, mercifully shortening the name.

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The character of "Flinty" is of such importance to the identity of the city, that the local Chamber of Commerce commissioned the minting of a $3.00 coin, which was considered legal tender within the city during the year following its issue. A statue representing Flinty was designed by cartoonist Al Capp and is one of the points of interest of the city.

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