Ambassador World Atlas began to show the place, labeling it as "Zzyzx" without the "Springs"; the 1976 Rand-McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide followed suit. Zzyzx as a settlement, and Zzyzx Spring as a water feature, were approved as a place name by the United States Board on Geographic Names on June 14, 1984. As is the case with the road, Zzyzx, California, is the USBGN's lexicographically greatest (alphabetically last, at least in Latin alphabetical order) place name. Zzyzx has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. Zzyzx was declared the "most difficult to pronounce" place name in California by Reader's Digest. In popular culture The plot of Michael Connelly's 2004 Harry Bosch novel, The Narrows, revolves around a crime committed in Zzyzx. The community was featured by Huell Howser in California's Golden Parks Episode 160. The 2006 films Zzyzx and Zzyzx Road both involve characters taking advantage of the unpopulated desert area. The American rock band Stone Sour references the community's 4.5-mile-long road in their 2007 song of the same name off of their album Come What(ever) May. See also Zyzyxia Xyzzy (disambiguation) References External links USGS GNIS entries: Zzyzx photos and historical information Center for Land Use Interpretation site page with directions, details, photos, and map link — also part 2 and part 3 Populated places in the Mojave Desert Springs of San Bernardino County, California Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California Mojave Desert Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad Populated places established in 1944 1944 establishments in California Unincorporated communities in California