It's hard to believe that we leave towns abandoned, but the majority of abandoned towns are because of either destruction by radiation, volcanoes, or toxicity or they were once mining towns gone bust. Here's 10 intriguing ones from around the world.
Hashima Island, Japan
This island was used for coal mining and closed down in 1974 with everyone moving away to find jobs and resources.
Centralia, Pennsylvania
Due to fires in the coal mines beneath the ground being toxic, the residents had to move. It has been burning for 40 years and will continue to burn for the foreseeable future.
Kolmanskop, Namibia Africa
This diamond mining town was run by Germans and built into a little German-looking village. It was abandoned in 1954. Destination Truth did a cool episode here.
Humberstone and Santa Laura, Chile
Both of these desert mining towns were shut down in 1960. A fantastic episode of Destination Truth was done in these neighboring towns.
Prypiat, Ukraine (Chernobyl)
Abandoned after the meltdown at Chernobyl in the 1980s. Destination Truth did a great episode here.
Varosha, Cyprus
This tourist town was abandoned during an invasion by Turkey in the mid 1970s.
Balaklava Submarine Base, Russia
This sub based was closed in 1996.
Pyramiden, Sweden
An abandoned Russian coal mining town and closed in 1998.
Sewell, Chile
This mining town shut down around 1977.
Ruby, Arizona
This mining town closed down in 1941
Great travelogue, Sharon, for all of us drawn to the wreckage left by urban decay. Thank you. Now, although you might shy away from the Artronica genre of music (Art+Electronica), here's an extremely eerie music video by the Danish Artronica project, Trentemøller, entitled Sycamore Feeling. It was actually filmed in Centralia, PA … It's replete with a woman's ghost trapped in an abandoned house and levitating around a room (obviously an actress aided by the modern technological miracle of CGI) and genuine split open and still-smouldering streets. Enjoy …
ReplyDeleteIt would be pretty cool and eerie to walk around a whole town being the only one around. I'd feel like Chuck Heston in The Omega Man
ReplyDeleteJulie and I plan to hit a few abandoned towns in the Southwest that are pretty crazy and creepy. I can't wait. I have gone through ghost towns before, but there's something about a more current-day abandoned town that is more eerie because it could have been our childhood neighborhood and not something unknown from another era.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is from Cyprus. He knowns of that place. Spooky!
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to explore and photograph all those places, well except for the toxic one.
ReplyDeleteoohh i hate scary stuff i would freak out if i was there! but it would make a lot of good photographs
ReplyDelete……. Additionally, if no one has seen the History Channel's series, Life After People …
ReplyDeletemy home town which is just over the tracks from boise has been hit hard by this repression. it stating to look much like what i expect detroit or any modern ghost town. the local diner even up and quit and it was bustling on most days. i liked to get me a biscuit sandwich as a treat after work and now theres nothing but the walmart. sad times and i hope they get better. your story reminded me of how folks are closing up shop thats all.
ReplyDeleteThese are indeed great places to photograph. I wonder if I can still find some diamonds in Kolmanskop, Namibia Africa. By the way, diamond mining seems like a more difficult activity than coal mining. Am I right?
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