(Image: Jef Poskanzer, cc-3.0)
It might be located off the coast of northern California rather than the Baltic or the icy waters of the Bering Sea (home to the abandoned stilt village of Ukivok), but even so this lonely island must have offered a tough and isolated way of life, with only a few deserted buildings for shelter against the elements.
Located off the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, the tiny Año Nuevo Island was home to a lighthouse and associated structures dating to the 19th Century. The abandoned lighthouse tower was demolished in the early 21st Century after the facility had fallen into disuse, ironically due to the danger it posed to wildlife rather than urban explorers.
(Image: Doc Searls, cc-sa-3.0)
As an important breeding ground for Northern Elephant Seals and the endangered Steller Sea Lion, Año Nuevo Island is offlimits to the public. And despite the demise of the lighthouse, the derelict keeper’s house remains in situ and appears almost frozen in time, rather like the haunting abandoned settlements of Antarctica.
Keep reading – explore 8 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Settlements at the Ends of the Earth, and visit the eerie Graveyard of the Bering Sea (Punuk Islands).
