The world boasts numerous abandoned settlements that span modernity, from remote ghost towns to vast deserted cities.  Some, like Pripyat in Ukraine, have become notorious symbols of human-caused disaster, while others have fallen into decay due to economic decline, civil war, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.  Some abandoned towns and ghost cities are so isolated that they have become like time capsules, almost untouched since their last occupants departed generations ago.  Join us as we travel across the continents to explore 50 of the world’s most impressive deserted settlements.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of Europe

(Images: mcfarlandmo, cc-3.0)

The history of Europe’s abandoned towns and ghost cities is often bloody, with many beautiful old settlements turned to crumbling shells through war and conflict.  From the Spanish Civil War to World War Two, villages like Oradour-sur-Glane and Belchite are eerie remnants of lost grandeur that may ironically be better known in abandonment than the were before.  But it’s not all tragedy: Europe is also home to lost mining settlements and military training villages – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of Eurasia

(Images: English Russia, Vikimach, cc-sa-3.0, Alsandro, public domain)

Covering almost 21 million square miles of the Earth’s surface, it’s no surprise that the “supercontinent” Eurasia is a repository of ghost cities, lost towns and remote settlements long since deserted.  From eerie abandoned holiday resorts such as Varosha in Famagusta, Cyprus, to mining settlements and the forgotten towns of Azerbaijan, Eurasia is home to some of the most impressive ghost towns on Earth – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of Asia

(Images: pavelrybin, cc-3.0; treasuresthouhast, cc-3.0; 利用者:Citrinitas, cc-sa-3.0)

Click here to explore six of the most incredible abandoned cities of Asia, from the romantic and enigmatic ghost town at Kayakoy in Turkey to Hashima “Battleship” Island and the bizarre remains of the Sanzhi Pod City “UFO houses” in Taiwan.  Other cities like Beichuan in China were tragically brought to their knees by earthquakes, while Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was such an notorious shanty that it was demolished and replaced by a garden – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of Africa

(Images: coda, cc-3.0; Y-Voir-Plus, cc-nc-3.0; Œuvre Personnelle, cc-sa-3.0)

Africa boasts a diverse collection of ghost towns ranging from small deserted settlements torn apart by civil war to beautiful colonial capitals such as Grand-Bassam in Côte d’Ivoire.  Explore a selection of them in this article, including the 13th century trading centre at Chinguetti in Mauritania (complete with former French Foreign Legion fort) and wealthy German mining town at Kolmanskop, Namibia – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of Oceania

(Images: Fir0002, GFDL License; Five Years, CC-SA-3.0; Jim Dean, cc-nc-sa-3.0; Jsimpson1100)

Like other New World abandonments, the ghost towns of Oceania – focusing mainly on Australia and New Zealand in this article – often rose and fell with the tough mining industry that brought thousands of settlers to the region before natural resources were depleted and markets dried up.  Despite starting small, many, such as Cassilis, Ravenswood and Wittenoom, became booming industrial towns before finally falling into decline – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of North America

(Images: Arne List, cc-sa-3.0; R.P. Hoblitt, public domain; Proper Pictures, cc-3.0; Jflo23, cc-sa-3.0)

Abandoned towns and cities of North America might conjure images of Wild West ghost towns like Bodie and Rhyolite, but there’s far more to this continent in terms of lost cities than the lawless camps of the Old West.  This article explores a range of places, from the evacuated towns of Times Beach and Centralia to the incredible modern ruins of Plymouth, Montserrat, which was destroyed by a volcano in 1995.  We’ll also visit Canada and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon – read more.

Abandoned Towns and Cities of South America

(Images: rewbs.soal, cc-sa-3.0; Hermann Luyken (left , right) cc-sa-3.0)

South America is home to some of the most impressive abandoned towns and ghost cities on Earth, from the architecturally striking and colourful (Humberstone and Sewell, Chile) to the tragic (Armero, Colombia) and the sinister (Jonestown, Guyana).  Join us on this tour of deserted South American settlements, which also explores Henry Ford’s failed rubber plant at Fordlândia, Brazil, and the Chilean town of Chaitén which became another volcanic victim in 2008 – read more.

Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

(Images: o_thomasy, NC-ND-2.0; Amanda Graham, CC-NC-ND-2.0; Wofratz; Hannes Grobe, CC-SA-3.0)

Adventure, exploration and dogged determination are woven into the fabric of Antarctica – a distant continent that embodies Man’s efforts to conquer the South Pole.  Not merely the final resting place of Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton, Antarctica is a repository of untouched history, with decaying factory ships beached at the abandoned whaling stations they once served, and deserted research stations that have remained frozen in time for decades.  From Deception Island to Grytviken, Antarctica’s abandonments are some of the most lonely in the world – read more.

6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

Disused cabooses, like this Union Pacific vehicle abandoned near the Death Valley ghost town of Rhyolite, are not uncommon in America’s Old West.  The once important settlement (pictured below) contains a house built out of 50,000 recycled beer bottles, but the only reuse this caboose appears to have seen is as a shelter for local rattlesnakes – a dangerous addition to the list of hazards traditionally faced by urban explorers.  (If forgotten railway equipment is your kind of thing, be sure to check out this train graveyard and our feature article covering abandoned railways, stations, tunnels & bridges.

(Image: Omar Omar: cc-3.0)

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Lonely and enigmatic, the medieval ghost town of Shali lies near Egypt’s isolated Siwa Oasis, 348 miles from Cairo and 30 miles east of the Libyan border. The buildings of the 13th century fortress, built mainly from a non-waterproof salt and mud mix known as kershef, were only supposed to last a few decades. Incredible, they remained inhabited until 1926, when a major rain storm destroyed Shali.

(Image: saragoldsmith, cc-3.0)

While it was no-doubt an impressive site before the storm, urban explorers, historians and photographers continue to be mesmerised by the enigmatic ruins. Taking advantage of surrounding hills, Shali reportedly towered 60 metres above the oasis, while its largest buildings – all now destroyed – reached five storeys tall.

(Image: Dust Mason (website), cc-nc-sa-3.0)

Despite Shali’s status as a ghost town characterised by numerous abandoned buildings, some structures reportedly remain inhabited. Historically a part of ancient Libya, Siwa Oasis was once home to an oracle of the Egyptian god Amon. The settlement, though isolated, is populated by around 23,000 people, mainly ethnic Berbers, the indigenous North African people from west of the Nile Valley.

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Ghost Towns & Abandoned Mines in Alaska, Arizona and Arkansas

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When the Irpinia earthquake of 1980 decimated Romagnano al Monte in southern Italy, the hilltop village was abandoned in favour of a replacement settlement several miles away. Eventually, after 20 years of silence, the ghost town became a popular tourist destination amid the stunning scenery of the Campania region.

(Image: paolo s, cc-sa-3.0)

Located in the province of Salerno, Romagnano al Monte is one of several ghost towns in the region that fell victim to the earthquake. Its narrow streets and abandoned buildings give it the feel of a crumbling medieval town, despite electricity cables and other remnants of modernity.

(Image: paolo s, cc-sa-3.0)

Romagnano al Monte occupies a commanding location overlooking a winding, steep-sided valley. Among the strategically located ruins is an elegant church, standing silent in the wake of hundreds of years of worship.

(Images: AleBonvini, cc-3.0)

Inside, some of the abandoned buildings and houses remain in good condition. In one, a simple yet elegantly tiled fire place, surrounded by more decorative tiling, remains relatively intact. Elsewhere, a broken plastic doll is an eerie reminder of ghost town’s former occupants, many of whom likely perished in the earthquake.

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Among the ruins of abandoned buildings in the ghost town of Rhyolite, this “bottle house” is an unusual reminder of the 50 saloons that once serviced the old mining settlement. Made up of 50,000 discarded beer and liquor bottles bleached by the searing heat of Nevada’s Death valley, the curious property was completed in 1906, taking less than six months to construct.

(Images: Ravenelle, cc-3.0: Bala, cc-3.0)

The bottle house was built by Rhyolite miner Tom T. Kelly and reportedly included a small number of patent medicine bottles among its construction materials. The property was one of three houses built using bottles and stands as a lasting example of recycling and environmental consideration in the old west.

(Image: Ken Lund, cc-sa-3.0)

Predictable water shortages in the region meant Kelly couldn’t even wash the bottles before incorporating them into the structure. Once complete, the miner plastered out the interior of the property and raffled it off to interested parties at $5.00 per ticket.

(Image: Greg Willis, cc-sa-3.0)

The bottle house was abandoned after Rhyolite became a deserted ghost town and fell into decay over the years. But a 1925 Paramount Studios production used the town as a location and the bottle house was duly spruced up. It was again restored in 2005, using period bottles to fill the gaps left by glassware that had disappeared over the years, and is now a popular Rhyolite landmark.

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The echoes of mining have long since evaporated from Gold Point, a ghost town in Esmeralda County, Nevada. But this old car and abandoned buildings guard the site of one of the Wild West’s most chance gold strikes. The tale began in the 1880s at a small mining camp called Lime Point. When silver was struck in 1902, prospectors from Tonopah and Goldfield made their way to the area and the town – renamed Hornsilver – was born.

(Image: Finetooth, cc-sa-3.0)

However, harsh conditions and lack of water led to its abandonment within a year. Circumstances improved in 1905 with the discovery of a rich silver vein, and by 1908 the town had a post office and a rowdy 13 saloons. But fate intervened when costly lawsuits and inefficient mining methods soon rendered Hornsilver a ghost town for a second time.

(Image: Tumbleweed, cc-3.0)

Charles Stoneham of the New York Giants bought the mine in 1915. But it wasn’t until 1927 when a miner named J.W. Dunfee made a chance discovery – gold – that saw the ghost town renamed Gold Point and led to the longest period of prosperity in its history, warding off the Great Depression that swept America.

(Image: Tumbleweed, cc-3.0)

Gold Point’s third and final fall into abandonment was brought about by World War Two, when the government ordered all gold mines to close down as nonessential to the war effort. Residents drifted away or went to war, and Gold Point once again became a ghost town – a title it still holds today.

(Image: Tumbleweed, cc-3.0)

Deserted but still frequented, the town boasts around 50 abandoned buildings, including former Senator Harry Wiley’s home and the post office, which is now a museum. The High Desert Drifters Western Historical Society today calls Gold Point its home, and tourists flock in large numbers to the old ghost town.

(Image: Tumbleweed, cc-3.0)

According to local legend, the headless ghost of Brittany Daniloff – the last woman to die in Gold Point – haunts the town. Daniloff met her end while preparing scallops in her kitchen. Instability brought on by mine deconstruction caused a support beam over the kitchen to collapse, killing her outright.

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Our ongoing quest to track down ghost towns and abandoned cities across every continent has brought us – finally – to South America, a stunningly beautiful landscape with a rich history and plenty of enigmatic abandonments.  We’ll explore six of them in this article, from the architecturally striking, such as Humberstone and Sewell, to the tragic Armero and the chillingly infamous Jonestown, not to mention Henry Ford’s failed rubber plant in the Amazon Rainforest.

Chaitén, Chile

(Image: Javier Rubilar, cc-3.0)

In May 2008, tragic misfortune struck the Chilean town of Chaitén when the nearby volcano erupted for the first time in 9,000 years.  Warnings came on May 2 as the ancient volcano began to rumble.  Fortunately residents had been evacuated by May 5 when the main eruption spewed a noxious plume of ash and sulpherous steam into the air, which drifted across Patagonia and out over the Atlantic Ocean.

(Images:betoscopio, cc-sa-3.0; Jorge Morales Flores, public domain)

Chaitén, the former capital of Palena Province in Los Lagos Region, was completely flooded on May 12 when the mudflow and other volcanic debris caused the river to burst its banks.  Over the following week, the sheer power of the water excavated a new course through the centre of the abandoned town, leaving extensive damage in its wake.  Officials have pledged to rebuild Chaitén 10 km to the north of the ghost town’s location.

Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, Chile

(Images: rewbs.soal, cc-sa-3.0; Hermann Luyken (left , right) cc-sa-3.0)

The Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works are two former saltpeter refineries in northern Chile, established in 1872 while the region was still part of Peru.  Santa Laura was founded by the Guillermo Wendell Nitrate Extraction Company, while James Thomas Humberstone founded the Peru Nitrate Company and established La Palma, which was later renamed in his honour.

(Images: Hermann Luyken, cc-sa-3.0; MicroondasDelSur, cc-sa-3.0)

Busy English-style towns grew up around the works before the Great Depression of 1929 forced their sale.  While Santa Laura was never a great success, Humberstone became the most successful saltpeter works in the region.  Located in the Atacama Desert, both plants became ghost towns in 1960 and are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Armero, Colombia

(Images: U.S. Federal Government (top left, bottom left) public domain; Jeffrey Marso (top right, bottom right)

Known as the Armero tragedy, Armero in Colombia is one of South America’s saddest ghost towns.  Armero was the seat of the region until November 13, 1985 when an eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano destroyed the town, killing around 23,000 of its 31,000 inhabitants.  The Armero tragedy made international news, while survivors were relocated to surrounding towns.

(Image: United States Geological Survey, public domain)

Survivors constructed an extensive cemetery on the site of the former town as a poignant reminder of the tragedy.  They constructed a tomb with an epitaph where their houses had once been, and in doing so created a symbolic city called The Camposanto.  The foundation of Armando Armero was established to help in the social and economic redevelopment of the devastated area.

Jonestown, Guyana

(Images: The Jonestown Report, cc-sa-3.0; Jonestown Institute (right, bottom), public domain)

Another tragic community, Jonestown in northwestern Guyana was formed by the Peoples Temple cult, led by Jim Jones.  On November 18, 1978, Jonestown became enshrined in the annals of notoriety when 918 members of the cult died at the settlement, as well as Guyana’s capital Georgetown and a nearby airstrip.

(Images: Jonestown Institute (left, right), public domain)

Termed “revolutionary suicide”, 909 Temple members died as a result of cyanide poisoning.  The suicides followed the murder of five individuals at Port Kaituma airstrip, including Congressman Leo Ryan, and four cultists in Georgetown.  Jonestown lies in ruins today, while the events that took place there are considered the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster before 9/11.

Sewell, Chile

(Images: Jorge Felipe Gonzales (website), cc-nc-sa-3.0)

Founded in 1904 by Braden Copper Co. and named after the company’s president, Mr Barton Sewell, this colourful Chilean ghost town presided over the largest underground mine in the world.  Beautifully positioned high in the Andes mountains at an altitude of over 2,000 metres, Sewell was home to 14,000 people by 1918 and many decades of prosperity were to follow.

(Images: Jorge Felipe Gonzales (website), cc-nc-sa-3.0

Known as the city of stairs due to lack of roads, workers and their families reached Sewell by train.  When the company began moving families to the valley in 1977, the camp fell silent and was partially dismantled.  But in 1998 the Chilean government declared Sewell a National Monument and the mining town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Popular with tourists, Sewell is arguably one of the world’s most striking ghost towns.

Fordlândia, Brazil

(Image: Guido Otero, cc-nc-3.0)

Fordlândia is an abandoned, prefabricated industrial town in the Amazon Rainforest.  Established by Henry Ford in 1928, Fordlândia was intended to supply cultivated rubber for the Ford Motor Company’s automobile manufacturing.  Ford received the land in return for a nine per cent interest in the profits generated, but never actually visited the town himself.

(Images: Guido Otero, cc-nc-3.0)

Unfavourable weather conditions for rubber growing, combined with little help from a Brazilian government suspicious of foreign investment, saw Ford relocate downstream to Belterra.  By 1945, synthetic rubber erradicated demand for natural rubber and Ford’s investment collapsed.  His grandson, Henry Ford II, sold Fordlândia for a loss of over $20 million.  The ill-fated Fordlândia survives as a ghost town.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica	50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World

(Image: hey-gem, reproduced with permission)

Urban Ghosts recently covered 10 favourite abandoned places traditionally documented by urban explorers, but there’s really no limits to where this adventurous subculture will go.  If it’s abandoned, chances are someone has the photograph.  For that reason, we’ve put together a sequel of 10 more incredible abandoned buildings and places for your urbex viewing.  Perhaps you visited one of these locations before it fell silent?

Abandoned Prisons

(Images: Adam Jones, cc-sa-3.0)

Abandoned places are spooky at the best of times, but they don’t come much more eerie than abandoned prisons.  Something about their peeling walls, dark corridors and dank cells gives them a sinister atmosphere that lingers long after the last inmates leave.  With often violent and tortured souls among their former residents, an unsettled air is perhaps to be expected.  But while most people would keep clear, urban explorers relish the opportunity to infiltrate such places.  (The prison above is Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary.)

Disused Bowling Alleys

(Images: TravelingMango, cc-nc-nd-3.0)

While the thumping sound of bowling balls has long since dissipated, and much of the interior fittings have been ripped out, this abandoned bowling alley impressively retains ten pins standing at the end of one of its lanes.  Perhaps the last strike didn’t come with the bowling alley’s closure, or maybe urban explorers reassembled the pins in a nod of respect to the abandoned entertainment venue?

Dead Malls: Deserted and Disused Shopping Centres

(Images: Tim Pickford-Jones, all rights reserved; Christopher, cc-nc-sa-3.0; Timcdfw, cc-sa-3.0)

Those of you that dislike shopping may not weep at the sight of dead malls, but the fact that their numbers have increased may signal a death blow for some communities.  But of course, their massive abandoned interiors provide an interesting urban exploration subject to be documented.  Above are Newcastle’s now demolished Royal Arcade, Belfast’s burnt-out Art Deco North Street Arcade, and Six Flags Mall in Arlington, Texas.

Abandoned Hotels

(Images: Pigalle, cc-nc-sa-3.0; Jordan Sitkin, cc-nc-sa-3.0)

If long corridors, grand staircases and ornate tiling are your thing, the abandoned Bokor Palace Hotel & Casino might speak to you.  Located in an abandoned French resort town in southern Cambodia called Bokor Hill Station, the hotel has been disused for decades but has been slated for redevelopment.  Abandoned hotels of varying sizes and grandeur can be found across the world, with some notable examples among Detroit’s famous modern ruins.

Forgotten Swimming Baths and Pools

(Images: Adam Slater (Reality Trip), all rights reserved; Everfalling, cc-3.0 )

Abandoned swimming baths have long been popular with urban explorers, and documenting their often impressive remains can tell us a lot about our recent history.  From grand Victorian and Edwardian baths to modern pools and outdoor lidos, many abandoned swimming pools survive today.  Be sure to check out our exploration of historic British swimming baths – coming soon.

Deserted Zoos

(Images: Omar Omar, cc-3.0)

If there’s one thing you can say about zoos, refashioning them for other uses is probably rather tricky.  There’s only so much you can do with empty cages, secure tunnels, and strange man-made landscaping designed to resemble (if only slightly) an animal’s wild habitat.  That’s why many abandoned zoos are left to decay for years before they’re finally flattened.  In the interim period, of course, they provide for a great urbex adventure.

Ship, Train and Aircraft Graveyards

(Images: Ahmed Rabea, sa-3.0; Bob Jagendorf, nc-3.0; Hunter Luisi, nc-sa-3.0; Jimmy Harris, 3.0)

Urban Ghosts has explored ship, train and aircraft cemeteries in a series of popular articles that received extremely positive feedback.  Fortunately, this means it’s not just us who are fascinated by the strange sight of vast vessels and state-of-the-art jets rusting away seemingly forgotten.  Such objects appeal to a broad cross section of inviduals, from urban explorers to historians and general enthusiasts.  They also make great urbex photography subjects.

Cemeteries, Ossuaries and Catacombs

(Images: Author; misha, cc-sa-3.0; Nsandre, cc-sa-3.0; Vlastula, cc-sa-3.0)

It’s no coincidence that many overgrown or abandoned cemeteries also happen to be the historic ones, like Sheffield’s famous and highly symbolic General Cemetery.  Grand, foreboding, and home to Sheffield’s wealthy and poor Victorian dead, this cemetery – and others like it – would be a perfect film location for any horror classic.  Ossuaries, with their decorative bone arrangements, are even more chilling.  Explore seven sinister ossuaries here.

Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities

(Images: Thomas.fanghaenel, cc-sa-3.0; Francesco Orfei, public domain)

It’s tempting to think of the Wild West when ghost towns come to mind, but there are many other abandoned towns and even cities across the world.  From old west ghost towns like Bodie, Rhyolite and Calico to the abandoned Sanzhi “UFO” resort in Taiwan, urban explorers have long enjoyed spelunking the ruins of entire forgotten settlements.

Abandoned Pubs and Bars

(Images: Alex Pink, cc-nc-sa-3.0)

This one might seem less mainstream in terms of urban exploration.  But like abandoned hotels, many pubs and bars have fallen into dereliction in recent years, especially in the UK.  Ironically, pubs are an important part of British culture despite their dwindling numbers, and thus present not only interesting urbex venues, but also an important chronicle of history and reminder of a beloved industry in need of help.

Part One: 10 Abandoned Buildings & Places Urban Explorers Love to Infiltrate

A Brief Introduction to Urban Exploration

Global Urbex: 12 Haunting Abandoned Buildings and Places

Photographing Decay: The Strange Appeal and Educational Qualities of Abandoned Places

Rust Belt Road Trip: 75 Urban Decay Pics

The gold and silver rushes of the western United States saw the rise and fall of many industrial communities.  Thriving settlements that grew up around mines and railroads are little more than ghost towns today, some abandoned, others kept alive by a fraction of their former populations.  Chloride, Arizona, is one of the most notable – a ghost town that is still very much alive, and home to the “Chloride Murals” by hippie artist Roy Purcell.

(Images: Chazz Layne, cc-nc-sa-3.0)

Once a thriving silver mining town in Mohave County, Chloride is the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in Arizona.  Founded in 1863, silver chloride discovered by prospectors two decades earlier gave the town its name.  But it wasn’t until a treaty was signed with the Hualapai Indians during the 1870s that silver mining became widespread and Chloride began to thrive.

(Images: Chazz Layne, cc-nc-sa-3.0)

With the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1899, the town grew to around five thousand inhabitants.  Its importance was highlighted by a spell as the county seat before changing fortunes saw Chloride’s population dwindle to two thousand by 1917.  While still inhabited, Chloride was considered almost a ghost town by 1944, after the cost of extracting silver ore went up and manpower was in short supply due to World War Two.

(Image: BethinAZ, cc-3.0)

A strange feature of the town is a group of murals painted by hippie artist Roy Purcell.  Known as the Chloride Murals, the paintings stem from the town’s brief spell as a counterculture haven during the 1960s.  Even today, the 250 or so residents that make up this living ghost town are an eclectic mix of retired and semi-retired business people, families and artists.

(Image: Kevin Cole, cc-3.0)

While some survive to this day, many of the original wooden buildings have been lost to time and fire.  Survivors include the Santa Fe Railroad Station, the old bank vault and two room jail.  The Chloride post office is now located in what was once the old pool hall, and while it has changed locations, it is said to the oldest continually functioning post office in Arizona.

Related Articles:
Rhyolite: Death Valley’s Haunting Ghost Town
Ghost Towns & Abandoned Mines of Alaska, Arizona and Arkansas
6 Abandoned Towns and Cities of North America

Our exploration of ghost towns and abandoned cities of the world has taken us to a diverse group of settlements deserted for a variety of reasons, from war and conflict to crime and failing economies.  North America delivers further fascinating abandoned places, from familiar former mining towns and a city consumed by a modern day volcano, to an underground mine fire and a community usurped through localised environmental catastrophe.

Times Beach, Missouri, USA

(Image: Google Earth)

Founded in 1925, Times Beach, Missouri was evacuated less than 60 years later when it became the scene of the worst civilian exposure to dioxin in the United States.  Plagued by dust problems, the city of Times Beach employed a local contractor to spray waste oil on unpaved roads to reduce dust levels.  Unbeknownst to them, some of the waste came from a facility producing Agent Orange for the Vietnam War and contained high levels of the toxic environmental pollutant dioxin.  Panic gripped the town by 1982 with illness and animal deaths attributed to the toxin.  The disaster was exacerbated by major flooding the same year, and the town was evacuated in 1985.  The site of Times Beach is now Route 66 State Park.

Centralia, Pennsylvania, USA

(Images: Proper Pictures, cc-3.0)

The abandoned town of Centralia is arguably the United States’ most (in)famous modern ghost town.  Once a thriving community whose amenities included five hotels, seven churches and 26 saloons, Centralia has been deserted since an underground mine fire ignited in 1962 – and still burns to this day.  It is estimated that the blaze could take 250 years to die down, and while several abandoned buildings still stand, most have now been demolished.  A time capsule sealed in 1966 is set to be re-opened in 2016.  (More here.)

Plymouth, Montserrat

(Images: R.P. Hoblitt, public domain; UWI Seismic Research Centre, cc-nc-nd-3.0; Wailunip, cc-sa-3.0)

On July 18, 1995 the Georgian-era city of Plymouth was destroyed when the Soufriere Hills volcano, which had remained dormant throughout recorded history, rumbled to life in an eruption of epic proportions.  As a result, this once pleasant capital of Montserrat, a British overseas territory in the Lesser Antilles, was buried beneath 12 metres of mud that rendered the southern half of the island unlivable.  Half of Montserrat’s population was forced to flee abroad, while 19 people were killed in a further eruption in 1997.  Northern Montserrat remains largely undisturbed by subsequent ash settlement, and despite the semi-visible abandoned cars and buildings of Plymouth, life on “The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” goes on.  (More here.)

Real de Catorce, Mexico

(Images: Jflo23 1 & 2, cc-sa-3.0; Michael R. Swigart, cc-nc-nd-3.0)

Sitting on a mountainside 160 miles north of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the once thriving mining town of Real de Catorce (meaning “Royal Fourteen”) was named after 14 Spanish soldiers killed in an ambush by Chichimec warriors.  The town was officially founded in 1779 after gold was struck, and by its heyday in the late 19th century Real de Catorce was home to 15,000 people.  It became a ghost town when the price of silver plummeted, but a reputedly miraculous image of St. Francis at the parish church helped draw pilgrims to the abandoned settlement.  With a population 1,000, Real de Catorce is a shadow of its former self, but attracts tourists drawn by its mysterious spiritual energy.  Several movies, including The Mexican and Bandidas, were filmed there.

L’Île-aux-Marins, Saint Pierre and Miquelon

(Image: via Arne List, cc-sa-3.0)

L’Île-aux-Marins (“The Island of the Sailors”) is a tiny island located off the coast of the French territory Saint-Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland, Canada.  The island, just 1,500 metres long by 400 metres wide, was settled in 1604 by a population that never exceeded 200.  L’Île-aux-Marins (originally called Île-aux-Chiens, meaning “Island of the Dogs”) was annexed by the nearby commune of Saint-Pierre in 1945, and deserted 20 years later.  The island remains home to a few hardy folk between May and November, retaining several unique buildings including a church, school (now a museum), cemetery, the Jézéquel house and a number of former fisherman’s cottages.

Barkerville, British Columbia, Canada

(Images: Kickstart70, public domain; Charles Gentile, public domain; JMEG, cc-3.0; I am I.A.M, cc-nc-3.0)

Founded around 1861, Barkerville, British Columbia was once the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago.  Situated on the old Cariboo Wagon Road near the Cariboo Mountains, this gold rush settlement grew from a collection of cabins and tents into a boom town by the mid-1860s, home to around 5,000 people including a sizable Chinese community.  At its peak, Barkerville boasted several general stores, boarding houses, a drugstore and a theatre.  The town was destroyed by fire in 1868, with most of the buildings replaced within six weeks.  But the end of the gold rush towards the turn of the century saw significant population decline, which led local businesses to fall into bankruptcy before Barkerville eventually became a ghost town.  It has since been restored as a popular tourist attraction.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

This latest exploration of our popular Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities series, into Oceania, focusses on Australia and New Zealand.  Like the America’s Old West, most ghost towns in this part of the world grew from humble mining camps to bustling communities with extensive modern infrastructures.  And like their American counterparts, when the natural resources had been depleted, or the bottom fell out of the gold market, ghost towns were born.

Cassilis, Australia

(Public domain image: source here)

Named after a castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, Cassilis boomed when the region struck gold in 1885 but declined by World War One when most available gold had been mined.  At its peak it boasted one of the largest reef mines around – King Cassilis (above).  The town, in Gippsland, Victoria, was serviced by two hotels, a coffee palace, two banks and two post offices, as well as an exceptional private school that attained the highest number of scholarships in the state for several years.

(Images 1 & 2 by Fir0002, reproduced under GFDL License)

Victoria’s first hydroelectric power station at Victoria Falls provided power and light to the mines.  But the mines closed once the gold was depleted and the boom times ended.  Only 34 inhabitants remained by 1933 and the bushfires of 1939 destroyed part of the town.  By like other ghost towns, Cassilis and its mines have risen again as tourist attractions within the 3,600-hectare Cassilis Historical Area.

Cossack, Australia

(Public domain image published 1898.  Author unknown)

Distant and exposed, and reached by a single road across a causeway at low tide, Cossack is a historic ghost town 1,480 km north of Perth in Western Australia.  Originally called Tien Tsin Harbour, the town was renamed after the ship – HMS Cossack – that transported the state’s Governor, Frederick Weld, in December 1871.  As the first port in the North West, Cossack was critical to the region’s growing pastoral industry.

(Public domain image by Jsimpson1100)

Cossack was the birthplace of Western Australia’s pearling industry, and home to the colony’s pearling fleet until the 1880s.  Boats dived for pearl shells off the coast using Aboriginal labour, including women and children.  The industry attracted a large Asian population including 989 Malays by 1895.  It even spawned a Chinatown area before a cyclone and pearl depletion forced the industry to move to Broome.

(Image by Nachoman-au.  Licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

Cossack was abandoned in the 1950s and became a ghost town.  Little remains today barring the cemetery with separate European and Japanese plots, and the old police house and gaol that now serves a more benign role as backpacker accomodation (above).

Ravenswood, Australia

(Images 1 & 2 by Jim, licensed: CC-NC-SA-3.0; 3 by Gondwananet, licensed: CC-SA-3.0)

More of a “living ghost town” than a spooky abandonment, Ravenswood is a small mining town in Queensland with a population of 191.  Two gold mines were still in use as of 2008, one underground near Mount Wright and a large open-cast.  But Ravenswood, in Queensland, is certainly a ghost town compared to the thriving community it was back in the nineteenth century.  Tourism is now as important as mining to the local economy, helped in part due to the historic buildings, like the Imperial Hotel, that remain today.

Newnes, Australia

(Images 1, 2, 3 by James Lamb, licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

Set near the beautiful Wolgan Valley in New South Wales, Newnes is an abandoned oil shale mining settlement built by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation during the late nineteenth century.  Two mines were established on north side of the Wolgan River.  Workers even aimed to tunnel under a mountain to link up with other facilities in the Capertee Valley where conditions were better, but mining difficulties and low quality shale rendered the tunnel an elusive dream.  1906 saw the construction of retorts, distillation areas, oil storage tanks, workshops and a power station, the substantial remains of which still exist today.

Macetown, New Zealand

(Image by Simon Hart, CC-SA-3.0)

Sailor William Fox struck gold in the Arrow River in 1862, and by the end of the year over 1,500 miners were camped in a small canvas town eager to make their fortunes.  Among them were brothers John, Charles and Harry Mace after whom the town got its name. In 1863 the population was around 300, but declined after the alluvial gold had been depleted.  Quartz mining attracted people back and the population climbed to a peak of 206 in 1896.  But Macetown had become a ghost town by the early twentieth century and little remains today.  The old schoolmaster’s house and the bakehouse have been restored and are now popular tourist attractions.

Wittenoom, Australia

(Images by Whinging Pom, CC-SA-2.0 and Five Years, CC-SA-3.0)

During the 1950s, Wittenoom was the biggest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.  But that ended when the town was abandoned in 1966 following health concerns due to asbestos mining.  A ghost town today, Wittenoom’s eight remaining residents receive no government services.  In June 2007 its townsite status was removed, and its name deleted from maps and road signs.  Roads to contaminated areas have been closed, bringing a whole new meaning to the term “ghost town”, with Wittenoom’s residents and their town essentially wiped from existence.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia
50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

To date Urban Ghosts Media has explored a number of ghost towns, from Bodie, the quintessential Wild West frontier town, to some of the world’s most fascinating abandoned towns and cities. But what more appropriate location for a ghost town than the aptly named Death Valley? That’s where the remains of Rhyolite stand, and even today the ruins tell of a prosperous and relatively grand settlement.

(Images by Finetooth & Pierre Camateros.  Licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

Located in Nevada’s Bullfrog Hills about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Rhyolite emerged as one of several mining camps in 1905 and exploded after the large scale discovery of gold. In the spirit of the Wild West, the ensuing gold rush brought miners, gold diggers and adventurers, bound by the promise of financial gain. Accompanying them were enterprising service providers intent on making a living off the rewards reaped through the burgeoning industry.

(Images top, left and right in public domain)

It wasn’t long before the Bullfrog Mining District was a hive of industrial activity, and Rhyolite boomed alongside the biggest gold producer in the region – the Montgomery Shoshone Mine. Industrialist Charles M. Schwab (above) bought the mine in 1906 and developed a modern infrastructure including piped water and railroad transport to the town, bringing relative civility to this wild and untamed land.

(Images by Nevada Tumbleweed, Bala & Tahoenathan. Licensed under CC-2.0 & CC-SA-3.0)

Within a year, Rhyolite had become a modern boom town, complete with electric lights, water mains, newspapers, a hospital, a stock exchange, an opera house, a school and a bank (both above). The town’s population at its peak is uncertain, but experts generally place it between 3,500 to 5,000 in 1907-1908.

(Images by Nevada Tumbleweed and Finetooth.  Licensed under CC-2.0 & CC-SA-3.0)

But times got tough and Rhyolite’s incredible rise was mirrored only by its equally swift decline.  Depletion of the richest ore, combined with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and financial unrest the following year set a chain of events in motion culminating in the rapid diminishing of the town’s population.

(Images by Ken Lund.  Licensed under CC-SA-2.0)

Investors in the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, fearing their investment was overvalued and finding it increasingly tough to raise capital, ordered an independent study. The findings were unfavourable and the stock value crashed. Montgomery Shoshone Mine closed in 1911, sending out-of-work miners to seek their fortunes elsewhere.

(Images by Gedstrom (public domain), 50 Prime, Bala & Nevada Tumbleweed.  Licensed under CC-2.0)

Rhyolite’s population declined to near zero by 1920. After its abandonment, buildings crumbled and stones were scavenged for use elsewhere. Ironically, Wild West settlements that become ghost towns have a habit of luring almost as many people as they did during their boom years. Tourists have replaced miners and today Rhyolite is a popular movie backdrop, with a railway depot and house made out of empty bottles (both above) preserved for thousands of visitors each year.

(Images by Nevada Tumbleweed.  Licensed under CC-2.0)

The photos above show how extensive Rhyolite was during its heyday, unlike many of the ramshackle towns out west.  While most of the buildings have long since disappeared, their ruined foundations and a roaring tourist trade ensure they are not forgotten.  Nearby, the entrance to one of the abandoned mines vanishes deep into the bowels of the Bullfrog Hills, a lasting memorial to the thousands of miners who lived – and died – on the Wild West frontier.

Related Articles:
Abandoned Towns and Cities of Europe
Abandoned Towns and Cities of Eurasia
Abandoned Towns and Cities of Asia
Abandoned Towns and Cities of Africa
Intriguing: Wild West Ghost Towns
Ghost Town of Bodie: Spectres, Curses and “Arrested Decay”

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The latest instalment of our Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World series brings us to Africa, a vast continent with more deserted settlements than we could ever hope to chronicle in a single article.  Like other areas of the world, the reasons for abandonment are widespread and often unsettling.  From the end of colonialism to the devastating after-effects of civil war and political instability, these ghost towns transport us on a rich – and often tragic – journey through Africa’s complex history.

Birao, Central African Republic

Images by UNICEF (top) and hdptcar

(Images top & bottom licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Only a few years ago Birao served as the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic.  But March 2007 brought violence and destruction to the town as rebels clashed with government troops, leaving Birao almost completely burned to the ground.  The top photo shows the shocking extent of damage to the buildings, while the truck has been utterly looted.  Find out more here.

Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire

Images by Y-Voir-Plus

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The grand colonial architecture of Grand-Bassam stems from its tenure as the French capital of Côte d’Ivoire.  The French colonial government abandoned the city in 1896, and Grand-Bassam’s commercial dealings dimished from that point onwards.  By 1960 – the same year Côte d’Ivoire gained independence from France – Grand-Bassam was all but a ghost town and has remained that way, despite a recent surge in tourism.

Images by Joker-x and via Eruedin (inset)

(Main image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported; inset in public domain)

When it comes to ornate colonial architecture, Grand-Bassam truly lives up to its name.  It’s rare to find a city like this verging on near-total abandonment, making it a rather unique place, and one that might see its fortunes improve in years to come as tourists converge on this former colonial capital.

Chinguetti, Mauritania

Images (top) by Radoslaw Botev and Ji-Elle (bottom)

(Images 1 & 2 in public domain; 3 & 4 licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported)

Although not completely abandoned, Chinguetti is a fascinating little city boasting impressive Saharan architecture and plenty of empty buildings.  Founded as a 13th century trading center in nothern Mauritania, a handful of visitors drop by each year to sample Chinguetti’s architecture and medieval manuscript libraries containing scientific and Qur’anic texts, set against the lonely beauty of the Sahara.

Images by Bildtankstelle (left), Ji-Elle (right) & François COLIN (bottom)

(Images 1, 2, 3 licensed under Creative Commons ShareAlike 3.0 Unported, SA 1.0 Generic & SA 2.5 Generic)

Lying on the Adrar Plateau east of Atar, Chinguetti was the center of several trans-Saharan trade routes.  But the encroaching desert and unpredictable weather patterns led to several buildings to the west of the city to be abandoned, creating the feel of a ghost town.  Notable buildings of an indigenous reddish dry stone and mud-brick include the Friday Mosque, a water tower and a former French Foreign Legion fortress.  In recent years, the government of Mauritania and various NGOs have implemented activities such as sand surfing in a bid to attract tourists to Chinguetti.

Kolmanskop, Namibia

Images by coda

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Kolmanskop is a ghost town near the port town of Luderitz in Namibia and perhaps one of Africa’s most impressive abandoned places.  A hangover from the heady diamond rush days that gripped the region after 1908, Kolmanskop’s unusual appearance for a desert ghost town reflects the wealth acquired by the German miners who sought their fortunes there, and the zeal of the German imperial government to stop others getting their hands on the loot.

Images by coda

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Their newly acquired wealth allowed residents to develop Kolmanskop in the architectural style of a German town, complete with hospital, ballroom, power station, school, theatre, casino, ice factory, bowling alley (intact to this day) and a railway connection to Luderitz.  Kolmanskop was exempt from a government ban on new mining claims in the area, but ultimately became a ghost town when the diamond market dried up.

Paoua, Central African Republic

Images by hdptcar

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Paoua and other abandoned settlements nearby became ghost towns after fierce fighting gripped the region between 2005 and 2008.  The top image shows a nearby village where, like Paoua, remaining residents were forced to flee into the bush to avoid actions by government forces and murders perpetrated by armed gangs against the local civilian population.  The white buildings, inset, belong to the United Nations.  Ange-Félix Patassé, former President of the Central African Republic, was born in Paoua.

Luderitz, Namibia

Images by Sara&Joachim

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Luderitz is still an active port city but nevertheless has enough abandoned buildings from Namibia’s colonial past to give parts of it the feel of a ghost town.  This abandoned whaling station is a perfect example, and is one of the original buildings from the city’s founding in 1883 on behalf of Adolf Luderitz, an Bremen merchant and founder of the first German colony in Southwest Africa.  Despite the inhospitable coastline, this abandoned building occupies a somewhat warmer position than other former whaling stations featured on Urban Ghosts.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

The “supercontinent” of Eurasia comprises all of Europe and much of Asia, but in terms of geopolitics it refers primarily to the post-Soviet states, the Central Asian republics, and the Transcaucasian republics.  It’s no wonder, therefore, that Eurasia abounds with ghost towns and abandoned cities, straddling a landmass intrinsically tied to the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Many settlements were left abandoned in the wake of industrial decline and ethnic disputes, while others linger on, all but forgotten in the margins of existence.

Agdam, Azerbaijan

Image by Joaoleitao

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported)

In July 1993 fierce fighting brought the town of Agdam in Azerbaijan to its knees. Troops of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic raided the town, forcing its entire population to flee. When fighting ceased, the raiders set about destroying Agdam to prevent its recapture, reducing it to a crumbling ghost town.

Images (left) by Post of Azerbaijan and (right) by Jalpeyrie

(Left image in public domain, right licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported )

After the Russian Empire fell in 1918, the largely Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh became a bone of contention between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh became part of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1923, but when the Soviet Union collapsed the region once again became a sore point, escalating a fierce ethnic conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1991 to 1994.  The town’s mosque (seen in the postage stamp above) survives amid the ruins.

Tkvarcheli, Abkhazia

Images by Alsandro (top) and Alaexis (bottom and inset)

(Top image in public domain; 2, 3, 4 licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 & 3.0)

Tkvarcheli is a coal mining town in Abkhazia, another disputed territory within the south-western flank of the Caucusas. Tkvarcheli became a town in 1942 and was temporarily lost to the Germans during World War Two. Following the end of Soviet rule, Georgia claimed Abkhazia, which is recognised as an independent territory by Russia, fueling tensions in the region.

Lashkendar Christian temple near Tkvarcheli (images by Alaexis)

(Images left & right licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported)

Georgia besieged Tkvarcheli during the War in Abkhazia (1992-3), although the town witheld through Russian aid. When Soviet mines closed, bkhaz-Turkish company Tamsaş took over the coal fields – considered illegal by Georgia and leading to the seizure of company vessels. Tensions led to a sharp population decline. While a few people remain in Tkvarcheli, the settlement is little more than a ghost town.

Ochamchira, Abkhazia

Sacred tree (top) in Elyr-Nykha shrine, Ochamchira (images by Alaexis)

(Image 1, 2, 3 licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 and 3.0)

Like Tkvarcheli, the coastal city of Ochamchira on the shores of the Black Sea also witnessed drastic population decline after the War in Abkhazia. Once a small maritime settlement that witnessed fighting between Russian and Turkish-Abkhaz forces in 1877, the population had grown to 18,700 by 1978. But fierce ethnic cleansing during 1992-93 left Ochamchira in the grip of abandonment. While some people remain, most of those affected by the conflict have never returned. It has been suggested that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet may eventually be relocated here from Sevastopol.

Varosha, Famagusta, Cyprus

Images by www.video99.co.uk (top) and Brian Harrington Spier

(Top image in public domain; bottom licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Varosha was once a booming tourist resort in the city of Famagusta. But inhabitants and vacationers fled during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, leaving Varosha abandoned and off-limits. The main roads through the district, JFK Boulevard and Leonidas, were home to smart hotels, shopping, bars and restaurants. Places like the Argo Hotel on JFK Boulevard, once a glamourous haunt of celebrities like Dame Elizabeth Taylor, now lie silent and abandoned.

Image by Vikimach

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported)

Nobody has been granted access since the invasion, and the buildings are slowly falling apart. Nature takes on corroding metal and crumbling masonry in a relentless battle to reclaim Varosha. It’s an eerie, time-warped sight today, as plants work their roots into walls and pavements, and brand new – now vintage – 1974 cars rust outside motor dealerships. Some even say lights are regularly seen in the broken windows of abandoned buildings.  Read more about Varosha in Michael J. Totten’s Middle East Journal.

Oil Rocks, Azerbaijan

Images via English Russia

(English Russia)

About 30 miles off the coast of Azerbaijan is the semi-abandoned oil drilling platform of Neft Daşları, known as Oil Rocks. This incredible floating city in the middle of the Caspian Sea was built to support a 5,000-strong population and 200km of road, built on top of dirt and landfill. Referred to as “The Island of Seven Ships”, due to a number of vessels sunk during its construction to provide a solid base for causeways, Oil Rocks boasts a school, shops and library. BLDG Blog writes that “this metropolis of platforms would not be out of place in a design studio themed around micronations, the future of private urbanism, or even failed utopias”.

Kadykchan, Russia

Images via English Russia

(English Russia)

Built by Gulag prisoners during World War Two, Kadykchan was another ill-fated coal mining community in the Susumansky District of Magadan Oblast, Russia. Kadykchan’s mines supplied coal to a local electric power station, but again the industry suffered after the collapse of the Soviet Union. An explosion killed six miners in 1996 and the decision was taken to close the mines forever. The population of Kadykchan (5,794 in 1989) had dwindled to less than 300 by 2007, a sure sign that this old mining community is set to join the expanding list of ghost towns in Eurasia.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

It’s tempting to associate ghost towns and abandoned cities with America’s Old West or the wild expanses of former Soviet Russia.  But ghost towns exist on every continent and Europe boasts a diverse range of modern ruins, some coming about due to war and conflict.  Ironically, in many cases abandonment has put these towns on the map and made them more popular with visitors than they were while inhabited.  Others, of course, are deserted for very different reasons…

Images by Kecko

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Äuli in Switzerland isn’t strictly an abandoned city, but it’s definitely a ghost town.  The difference?  Äuli was never inhabited in the first place, but rather built by the Swiss government as a military training town, teaching close quarters combat and counterinsurgency tactics.  It’s not somewhere you’d want to visit, and Äuli is fitted with cameras and patrolled regularly to keep any unwanted visitors away.  (On the same subject, check out these ghost villages/rural battlegrounds that urban explorers should avoid.)

Wilmarsdonk, Belgium

Images by Hoelen, Capelle (top), uair01 (left) and LimoWreck (right)

(Top image in public domain; left and right images reproduced under Creative Commons: left, right)

Wilmarsdonk was once a bustling community north of Antwerp.  But its proximity to the burgeoning city proved to be its downfall.  First recorded in 1155 and merged into Antwerp in 1927, Wilmarsdonk was abandoned and ultimately demolished to make way for the expanding Port of Antwerp, one of Europe’s largest sea ports and second only to Rotterdam in terms of freight shipped.  Wilmarsdonk was levelled in 1965 and only the church tower survives, rising silently above the port, all but forgotten judging by the weeds sprouting from its roof.

Imber, Wiltshire, UK

Images by Scott Wylie

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Chances are you’ve never passed through Imber on Salisbury Plain.  If you have, you’re lucky to still be here! Ever since 1943, when its residents were evicted, Imber became a ghost town and has since been used for military training, coaching troops in close quarters combat techniques that they’ll carry with them into modern war zones like Afghanistan.

Images by Rog Frost (left) and Scott Wylie (right)

(Images left and right (top, bottom) published under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licenses: L & R)

Believe it or not, St Giles’s church in Imber is still used for one service each year – the only time the British government will grant access to church authorities, let alone the congregation.  By 2001, the church council called for St Giles’s to be classed as redundant, since it couldn’t gain access to carry out urgent repairs.  Damage was exaccerbated when the church was struck by lightning in 2003.  But despite bullets whizzing around in all directions, the church was restored by 2009 and, incredibly, annual services carry on as normal.

Here’s why you don’t want to get too close to Imber, even if these troops are just cadets playing around with blanks.  Can you imagine living here, then being given 47 days to leave before your beloved country cottage is riddled with machine gun fire for the rest of its standing days?

Oradour-sur-Glane, France

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On June 10, 1944 an atrocity took place at Oradour-sur-Glane so terrible that the entire village has since been martyred.  On that fateful day, a company of German Waffen-SS massacred 642 residents, including women and children.  The slaughter was reportedly a revenge attack against the French Resistance, and war criminal Heinz Barth admitted at his trial that there was no military objective.

Image by TwoWings

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Barth ordered that men be herded into a barn and shot at close range with machine guns.  German troops aimed for their legs to ensure a more painful death.  Women and children were herded into the church before also meeting German bullets.  While a new village of Oradour-sur-Glane was built nearby, the original was never repaired, and today stands as a gruesome reminder of Nazi cruelty.

Pyramiden, Svalbard, Norway

Images by Eckhard Pecher

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The ghost town of Pyramiden – meaning the pyramid – on the archipalego of Svalbard, Norway, was a coal mining community founded by Sweden in 1910 and sold to the Soviet Union in 1927.  The chilly settlement once housed over 1,000 people, but was abandoned when its state-owned Russian contoller, Arctikugol Trust, pulled out in 1998.  Visitors have been free to explore Pyramiden but are prohibited from entering the abandoned buildings due to health and safety concerns.  Russia is currently redeveloping Pyramiden for tourists, but it’s not expected to be the warmest summer holiday destination.

Images by luisvilla

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War has been a frequent visitor to the village of Belchite in Spain over the last two centuries.  On June 15, 1809 French of Spanish forces fighting in the Peninsular War fought the Battle of Maria near Belchite, located 40 km southeast of Zaragoza.  The village was also heavily damaged between August 24 and September 7, 1937 when the Spanish Civil War came to town, and Republican and Nationalist forces clashed in the Battle of Belchite.  A new village was built on adjacent land.  The original remains as a war memorial, and was used in the filming of Pan’s Labyrinth.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

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6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Asia	50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

Image by treasuresthouhast

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Ghost towns and abandoned cities are strange and fascinating places, often reflecting some great upheaval that led to their demise.  Asia is no stranger to urban abandonments, from antiquated to modern, deserted due to natural disaster, economic decline and so on.  In abandonment, their buildings take on a different physical form to the bustling communities they once were, and often become a focus of urban exploration.

Kayakoy, Turkey

Images by pavelrybin

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This hillside in southwestern Turkey offers an impressive sight, dotted with roughly 500 ruined houses that once made up the 2,000 strong Greek Christian settlement of Kayakoy. Abandoned in 1923, the ghost town is so intact that the houses could be waiting for new owners to fix their roofs, splash some paint around and get on with life as normal.  In fact several houses have been reoccupied, and with two surviving Greek Orthodox churches, Kayakoy is a major tourist attraction protected by the Turkish government, although roadside vendors have a habit of scavenging objects from the town to sell as souvenirs.

Beichuan, China

Images by treasuresthouhast

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Ravaged by the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, the tragic city of Beichuan has become one of Asia’s modern day ghost towns.  Like some of the great cities of classical times, much of Beichuan was destroyed when the quake shook this peaceful landscape, its remaining buildings standing – just about – amid a scene of sheer destruction.  To put the tragedy into perspective, in a town with a population of 20,000, over 1,000 students lost their lives at Beichuan high school alone when two buildings collapsed on the campus.  Survivors were relocated after the town was deemed too vulnerable to rebuild.  It is set to become a memorial park.

Hashima Island (Gunkanjima), Japan

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Popularly known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) due to its shape and high seawall formation, Hashima Island is one of Japan’s most talked about places in the annals of urban exploration.  Occupied from 1887 to 1974 and plagued by rumours of forced labour, Gunkanjima was bought by Mitsubishi in 1890 to mine deep sea coal.  It went on to play a key role in the industrialisation of Japan.

Images by snotch

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Petroleum replaced coal in Japan during the 1960s and the island’s output declined.  Mitsubish closed the mine in 1974 and the 835 people per hectare population abandoned Hashima Island.  Ownership has since been turned over to the city of Nagasaki (15km away) and the island survives as a tourist attraction, although access is limited due to the dangerous condition of the abandoned buildings, some of which have tumbled down.

Sanzhi UFO Houses, Taiwan

Images by cyperone – Taiwan

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The uniquely inspired Sanzhi Pod City, aka UFO houses or the ruins of the future, was built in 1978 as a failed holiday resort for U.S. service personnel posted to East Asia.  The resort in Taiwan was never finished – abandoned two years after work commenced.  It remained abandoned for 28 years, a bizarre collection of saucer-shaped buildings on the otherwise ordinary landscape.  Lack of investment on top of mounting debt saw Sanzhi finally demolished in 2008, the ultimate failed holiday resort, and probably one of the most unique too.  Read our full article here.

Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

Image by Jidanni

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The web is buzzing with information about Kowloon Walled City, but the shanty is/was simply too fascinating to pass up.  A largely ungoverned settlement with 33,000 residents crammed into a 6.5 acre (0.01 square miles) plot supposedly controlled by the Triads, it’s little wonder that Kowloon Walled City ultimately became a den of iniquity.

Image by James Cridland

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Originally built as a Chinese Fort, the densely populated citadel became a self-contained enclave when the British took control of the New Territories.  More and more storeys were added to the already ramshackle slum, and the hands-off approach of the Hong Kong government meant organised crime syndicates reigned largely supreme and gambling, drugs and prostitution were commonplace.

Images by BYTE RIDER

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Still, most residents were not involved in crime and made the most of the little they had, finding ways to raise and educate their children amid the vice in the endless labrynth of alleys.  Kowloon Walled City was finally demolished by 1994.  Remains can be seen in the Kowloon Walled City Park that replaced the city, its gentle tranquility where architecture meets nature a notable contrast to its previous incarnation.

Mandu, India

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Mandu, located near Indore in Madhya Pradesh state was founded as a fortress retreat in the 10th century.  After being captured by the Mughals in 1401, Afghan Dilawar Khan established his own kingdom with Mandu at the centre.  Known at one point as the “city of joy”, Mandu’s golden age had officially begun.

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Mandu supposedly celebrates in stone the love between Baz Bahadur (a poet-prince ) and his consort, Rani Roopmati, an important component of local folklore to this day.  The city has been abandoned for four centuries and is an important example of Afghan architecture.  Its enigmatic palaces, frozen in time on their hilltop plateau, even inspired the design of the Taj Mahal.

Explore 44 more Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World – click here.

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50 Incredible Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of the World	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of South America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of North America	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Oceania
6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Europe	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Africa	6 Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities of Eurasia	8 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Settlements of Antarctica

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The many ghost towns dotted about the United States are silent reminders of the country’s (often lawless) past.  Adventurers came from far and wide to seek their fortunes on the frontiers, building numerous communities around mines and railroads that declined as their raw materials were often rapidly depleted.

Alaska – Independence Mine and Kennecott Mining Camp

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Let’s begin with the last frontier – Alaska.  From the moment lode (hard rock) gold was found in the Talkeetna Mountains in 1886, the “rush” was on!  Lode mining required elaborate tunnels and heavy equipment, and several mining companies merged to pool their resources.  The result was Independence Mine, with an operation comprising 27 structures across more than 1,350 acres.

Image by framboise

At its peak in 1941, the company operating Independence Mine employed 204 men, blasted almost 12 miles of tunnels, and produced 34,416 ounces of gold worth $1,204,560; today $17,208,000.  World War Two rendered gold mining nonessential, although Independence Mine continued to operate due to the presence of sheelite (a source of tungsten, which is a strategic metal).  But supplies were low and the mine closed in 1943.  I was granted a brief reprieve in 1946 when gold mining resumed, but Independence Mine never recovered and January 1951 saw the end of an epoch in Alaskan history.

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The abandoned mining camp at Kennecott was once the centre of Alaska’s copper mining operations.  Stephen Birch, a newly qualified mining engineer, bought the prospectors’ interest in mine for $275,000.  Within 20 years the investment would yield the richest known concentration of copper in the world.  Battles raged between conservationists and those with a financial interest in the copper, including the Guggenheim family and J.P. Morgan, who formed the Kennecott Copper Corporation in 1903.

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Kennecott had five mines, four of them connected by tunnels.  At its peak in 1916, the copper ore yield was valued at $32.4 million.  High grade supplies were depleted by the 1930s, and the last train-load of copper ore left Kennecott on November 10, 1938.  The following day, it was a ghost town, and national historic monument.  For more ghost towns in Alaska, check out the abandoned stilt village of Ukivok, and this related article.

Arizona Ghost Towns – Fairbank, Sasco and Swansea

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Fairbank was once an important town in the “Arizona Territory”, brought about by the railroad and tied in fate to the silver mines of legendary frontier town Tombstone.  The town was named after Chicago investor Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank who partially financed the railroad.  Fairbank founded the Grand Central Mining Company, which had an interest in Tombstone’s mines.  The town was formally founded on May 16, 1883, the day the local Post Office opened.

Top image by James E. and Barbara H. Sherman (public domain); bottom image by ThreadedThoughts

Fairbank’s railroad station and proximity to Tombstone ensured its vibrancy, with supplies brought in and silver ore shipped out.  At its peak Fairbank was home to around 100 residents, a steam quartz mill, general store, butcher shop, restaurant, Wells Fargo office, railroad depot, stage coach station, and of course, the ubiquitous saloon.  But when it rains in the desert, it pours!  Flooding closed Tombstone’s mines in 1886 and Fairbank’s fate was all but sealed.  The last significant event in the town’s history came in 1900 during an attempted train robbery, when a lawman mortally wounded robber “Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop, in true Wild West fashion.

Images by rscottjones

Sasco rose to prominence towards the end of the Old West, and is perhaps not how many would imagine a “Wild West” ghost town to be.  But this town, which once housed 600 people and is an acronym for Southern Arizona Smelter Company, boasts some interesting remains.  Most extensive are the old Rockland Hotel (above), smelter foundations and the old cemetery.  Sasco’s habitationw as short-lived, mainly between 1907 and 1919, when the post office closed.

Images by robsv

Swansea was a mining town settled around 1909, originally called Signal.  Due to a lack of smelting facilities at the time, most of the copper ore was shipped to Swansea in the United Kingdom.  At a time when the world was a smaller place, the journey must have been epic – railroad to the Colorado River, then by ship from the Gulf of California around Cape Horn to the UK.  A smelter was finally added, but the town took the name Swansea in honour of its history.  But decline set in fast, and Swansea was a ghost town by 1937.

Arkansas – Rush Ghost Town

Images by SnoopyKiss

Unlike the Wild West, Arkansas was a zinc and lead mining region, and Rush was settled for that purpose.  The town was settled from around 1880 to 1940, although the bottom dropped out the zinc market after World War One, and Rush’s population dwindled from almost 5,000 to 500.  Rush had shops, a hotel, a doctor’s office, and even a moving picture show.  Today, the abandoned ghost town is a symbol of the boom-bust cities in America.

If you enjoyed this article, don’t miss Ghost Town of Bodie: Spectres, Curses and “Arrested Decay”

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The old mining settlement at Bodie in California is arguably America’s best preserved ghost town. Dating back to around 1859, Bodie is frozen in a state of “arrested decay”, looked after as a historic park but not restored to its original condition. This makes the town both authentic and mysterious, with original fixtures in the buildings left untouched since their occupiers deserted them. In essence, it is as though an entire community just disappeared.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

In the words of one Urban Ghosts reader, “Bodie is a photographer‘s dream”.  So with that thought in mind, here’s a selection of stunning images to inspire and intrigue, accompanied by stories of hauntings and curses that’ll make your blood run cold.

Bodie Folklore

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Local legend speaks of a little girl whose family moved to the town from San Francisco.  Depending on who’s telling the story, the girl allegedly wrote in her diary: “Good, by God, I’m going to Bodie” or alternatively, “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.”  The inherent lawlessness and shadowy profiteering of the Wild West certainly suggests the latter, but could there be more sinister forces at work here?  Read on!

Haunted Bodie

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

Unsurprisingly, Bodie abounds with legends of the paranormal, none more famous than the haunted Cain residence.  Jim Cain was a local businessman who prospered from bringing lumber to Bodie.  Buildings were constructed from and heated by wood, and the mills burned vast amounts of it in their steam-driven engines, fattening Mr Cain’s wallet with every last ember.

(Images 1 & 2 by Mispahn, 3 by Melissa Wiese, 4 by Thomas Kriese.  Licensed under CC-2.0)

Cain built his home at the corner of Green and Park Street and hired a Chinese maid.  Rumours soon spread that the pair were having an affair, and the maid was promptly fired by Cain’s wife.  Publically disgraced – an impressive feat in a town dominated by gambling, prostitution, shoot-outs and robbery – the unfortunate maid was unable to find work and took her own life.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

Legend has it the maid’s ghost haunts the Cain house to this day, unable to rest or let others rest within its walls.  Over the years, the house has provided accomodation for park rangers and has also been open to the public.  Children have reported a ghostly apparition in an upstairs bedroom, while others have heard music coming from the same room, which always seems to be empty.

(Images by Daniel Mayer (top) and Thomas.fanghaenel.  Licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

In one chilling account, the wife of a park ranger said:

“I was lying in bed with my husband in the lower bedroom and I felt a pressure on me, as though someone was on top of me. I began fighting. I fought so hard I ended up on the floor. It really frightened me. Another ranger who had lived there, Gary Walters, had the same experience, in the same room, except that he also saw the door open and felt a presence and a kind of suffocation.”

Taken in isolation, incidents like this can easily be discounted as a figment of the imagination or a bad dream.  But when different people report the same spooky experience, it’s time to call in the ghost hunters.

(Images by Telstar Logistics and James Marvin Phelps.  Licensed under CC-NC-2.0 and CC-2.0)

The Curse of Bodie

One of the most bizarre stories associated with Bodie is a mysterious curse that, again according to folklore and hearsay, has been cast on certain visitors to the town.  Allegedly, the spirits of the dead residents serve as guardians of the town today, bringing bad luck and misfortune to souvenir hunters who take anything – regardless of size – with them after they leave.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

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Ghost towns exist across the world but rarely are they more intriguing than in the United States, where former mining towns played host to the pioneers of their day.  Other towns grew up around the railroad, as civilisation gradually spread from the eastern seaboard to the Wild West.  Reasons for their abandonments are wide and varied, from the inherent lawlessness of the era to the depletion of natural resources.  Whatever the reasons, ghost towns provide a fascinating glance into our history.

Bodie, California

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Bodie is a ghost town in California east of the imposing Sierra Nevada mountains.  The town is thought to be named after W.S. Bodey, one of a group of prospectors who discovered gold there in 1859.  The discovery of more profitable gold-bearing ore in 1876 turned Bodie into a frontier boomtown.

At its peak it had two banks, four volunteer fire companies, a railroad, several daily newspapers, a brass band and post office.  In the true spirit of the Wild West, it also had a jail to accomodate the pervasive lawlessness.  Main Street was a mile long and lined with 65 saloons.  Not surprisingly then, murder and shootouts were common place in this wild land where a man’s life was all too often measured by the speed at which he could draw his gun.

Image by Jon Sullivan

Decline set in around 1880, when miners were lured away to other promising boomtowns like the fabled Tombstone, Arizona.  Bodie lingered on as a more family orientated community, with a new Methodist church and mines remaining profitable as technologically advanced.  But by 1912, the Standard Consolidated Mine had closed and the last copy of the Bodie Miner newspaper was printed.

Image by manyhighways

By 1917 the railroad had closed and gold mining in the U.S. was halted to make way for war production.  It never resumed.  In 1962, the town became Bodie State Historic Park, and receives around 200,000 visitors annually (although it is rumoured to be closing soon due to budget cuts).  Spookily, many of the supplies and household goods are as they were left years ago when the town was finally abandoned.

Calico, California

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Calico is a ghost town also located in California, this time in the Mojave Desert.  Unlike Bodie, it was a silver mining town and once boasted around 500 mines.

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The town was abandoned in 1907 and its last original resident, Lucy Bell Lane, died in the 1960s.  Her house now forms the main town museum.

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Not quite so authentic today, Calico was extensively renovated by Walter Knott around 1951, and visitors can now enjoy staged gun fights (rather than the real thing!), gold panning and trips on the old Calico & Odessa Railroad, bringing the past of this once lawless Wild West town back to life.  By all accounts, the town could soon be heading for the big screen!

Near Brenham, Texas

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Not strictly a ghost town in the Wild West sense, but according to photographer Trey Ratcliff, writing in January 2009, these buildings had been recently abandoned for one reason or another.

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They are interesting for two main reasons: first, the high definition photography really brings out the atmosphere in these old buidings; second, their bright colours generate a lively and jovial feel which contrasts with their abandonment.

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They look inviting and forbidding at the same time, and leave us wondering why they became abandoned in the first place.

Related Articles:
Ghost Town and Abandoned Mines in Alaska, Arizona and Askansas
Abandoned Mansions, Farms and Ghost Towns
Ghost Town of Bodie: Spectres, Curses and “Arrested Decay”
Suburban Exploration: Ruined Canal Town of Matildaville
Scotland’s Outer Hebrides: Ancient Ruins and Crumbling Crofts

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