Towns and streets follow very similar naming conventions, falling, as they do, into the same twelve categories detailed in my article, “What’s in a Name? — Street Names.” In Connecticut, the vast majority of towns take their names from places in the United Kingdom. Greenwich, Connecticut, is named after Greenwich, England. In this article, we will explore four towns or cities around the world called Greenwich.
Photo from https://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk
1. Greenwich, England
Greenwich, England is a Royal Borough of London on the southern bank of the River Thames and features a beautiful park, the Queen’s House, and the prime meridian. The prime meridian, also known as zero degrees longitude, divides the world into the eastern and western hemispheres. Distances between places on a world map are measured using longitudes and latitudes.
Photo from https://www.flickr.com/photos/shootingchris/803249296/
2. Greenwich, Canada
Greenwich, Canada, is a small town on Prince Edward Island and home to Prince Edward Island National Park. The park is known for its parabolic (horseshoe-shaped) sand dunes, which are rare in North America.
3. Greenwich, Australia
The Greenwich of Australia is a suburb north of Sydney. Greenwich and a few of its neighboring towns along the Parramatta River are named after Greenwich, England, and its neighbors situated along the River Thames. Greenwich “down under” is known for its beaches, harbors, and an English language college. From its outermost point, you can see Cockatoo Island, the site of a notoriously harsh prison in the 1800s.
4. Greenwich, Antarctica
Lastly, there is Greenwich Island in Antarctica, located directly south of Cape Horn, South America!
Although officially uninhabited, Chile and Ecuador each maintain atmospheric research stations on the island.
The average temperature there is -2 degrees Celsius! So it is very very cold!
Today’s Activity
In this activity, you will look for locations around the world that have the same name as your hometown, city, or neighborhood. Since we already looked up Greenwich, try researching a town close by or the name of the town where you used to live? Your choice!
Click below on “Around the World Worksheet,” then click on “Copy URL,” then paste the link to the address bar on your browser.
