Flin Flon

Manitoba, Canada
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/place/Flin-Flon
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Flin Flon, city, western Manitoba, Canada, north of Athapapuskow Lake. A portion of Flin Flon lies in Saskatchewan and is jointly administered by both provinces. The name was derived (1915) from a fictional prospector, Professor Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, in the dime novel The Sunless City by J.E. Preston-Muddock, a copy of which was reputedly found in the wilderness of northern Manitoba. A large statue of the professor, designed by American cartoonist Al Capp, stands on the city’s outskirts and has served as the prototype for many community mascots in Manitoba. The community was established around Ross Lake and other small lakes in 1928, the year a railroad line was completed from The Pas (97 miles [156 km] south-southeast) and shortly after a Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company plant was built on the site. Flin Flon’s economy still centres on the mining and smelting of copper and zinc, but lumbering, fishing, and tourism are also significant. A municipal district was established in 1933, and the city was incorporated in 1946. Pop. (2006) 5,836; (2011) 5,592.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.