13 Amazing Abandoned Settlements

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• published: 13 Dec 2016
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From a small abandoned village in Argentina that tourists flock to to a village on top of a mountain people left completely empty! Subscribe to Talltanic http://goo.gl/wgfvrr 8. Gamsutl’ Located at the top of a mountain in the district of Dagestan, Russia the name of this abandoned village translates to ‘at the foot of khan’s fortress.” Neither the name of the Khan or the date of the town's inception were recorded. People populated the village into the 20th century, and there were shops, a school and a hospital there. Slowly over the last century people left in search of a better life in a larger town until the village was completely abandoned. 7. Epecuen Today this small village in Argentina lies almost entirely abandoned after a flood ravaged the area in 1985. Starting in the 1920’s Epecuen was an ideal tourist village thanks to its easy accessibility and proximity to Buenos Aires. The healing waters of Lago Epecuen also drew many people to the destination. During this time the town attracted 25,000 tourists annually and had a population of 1,500 while also having around 280 businesses. A rare weather pattern caused the nearby dam and then the dike protecting the village to break. The ensuing flood resulted in residents deserting the town. To call it abandoned, however, would be a lie. In 2009 Pablo Novak returned to his home after waters receded, becoming the sole resident of Epecuen. 6. Sandy Point At one time Sandy Point was the largest human settlement on the west coast of Newfoundland and functioned as a major port and supply center for the region. Over time Sandy Point became known for a genetic defect shared amongst its population called Allderdice syndrome. People started leaving in 1949 when the provincial government paid the residents to relocate to nearby St. George, which lay on the country’s main railway line. Two residents remained until the 1970’s when they were finally forced to leave. 5. Paris Paris is an abandoned settlement on Kiritimati Island in Kiribati. Father Emmanuel Rougier, a bearded French priest who renounced his church and became a coconut harvester occupied the area from 1917 to 1939. In this time Rougier would plant around three-quarters of a million coconut trees which yielded him around one dollar a year per tree, a tidy sum, especially in those days. Experts feel that the lack of easy access led people to abandon Paris in favor of nearby London, another settlement on the island. 4. Humberstone Humberstone stands out for being peculiarly British amongst the other Spanish names that occupy northern Chile on a map. This former mining town takes its name from James Humberstone, a British chemical engineer who traveled to the area in 1875. The entrepreneur made his fortune by mining saltpeter, or white gold, out of the areas earth. The substance was in huge demand in Europe during this time and became the primary source of revenue for Chile. The saltpeter works have been fully abandoned since 1960 and were named a World Heritage Site in 2005. 3. Tyneham Experts have unearthed evidence of Roman occupation in this Dorset village dating back to the Iron Age. The limestone church, which along with a school house is preserved as a museum and dates back to the 13th Century. The British Army used the area for military training starting in the 1940’s. This occupation was supposed to be temporary but the Army ended up placing a compulsory purchase order on the land, and it has been used by the military as a firing range ever since. People would never reoccupy the area permanently. The Ministry of Defence began opening the town to the public on weekends in 1975 after numerous complaints from tourists and locals. 2. Tung Ping Chau Lying off the coast of Hong Kong this island is uninhabited today but has a rich and sordid history. Tung Ping Chau once had a thriving fishing community and 3,000 permanent residents. During the Japanese occupation of the country, the island was used to supply military resources to the Chinese army. The economy of the island started to deteriorate in the 1950’s when stocks began to dry up. Only a few older adults remained on the island in the 1970’s and finally, in 2004 the last permanent residents left. The island was also once used to smuggle drugs and weapons. 1. Leith Harbour While in operation from 1909 to 1965 this whaling station in South Georgia was one of the busiest on earth processing nearly fifty thousand whales. In its heyday, the harbor boasted a hospital, library, and a cinema. People attempted to introduce reindeer to Leith Harbour in 1912, a plan that ended in failure when an avalanche destroyed the herd in 1918. The Allies used Leith Harbour during World War 2, and its defense was overseen by the British throughout the war. Access to Leith Harbour became restricted in 2010 due to asbestos concerns and collapsing buildings. Today the area lies utterly abandoned and is slowly being overtaken by the area’s wildlife.