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Unique Locations and Strange Places!
jungleroomx
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
It's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered User regular
The Door to Hell - Uzbekistan
A natural gas vein that has been burning for about 35 years from a failed oil expedition.
The Eye of Africa - Mauritania
Salar De Uyuni - Bolivia
Worlds largest salt flat, and despite the presence of water it is completely undrinkable.
The Coloured Earth - Mauritius
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Victoria Falls. I'd love to go there.
Centralia, PA. The real life Silent Hill.
Early History
Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. The anthracite coal industry was the principal employer in the community. Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business. Bootleg mining continued until 1982. Strip and open-pit mining is still active in the area, and there is an underground mine employing about 40 people three miles to the west.
Centralia area showing conditions before mine fire
The borough was also a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s and 1870s. The borough's founder, Alexander Rea, was one of the victims of the secret order when he was murdered just outside of the borough on October 17, 1868.[4] Three individuals were convicted of the crime and hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, on March 25, 1878. Several other murders and arsons also occurred during this period.
The borough was served by two railroads, the Philadelphia and Reading and the Lehigh Valley, with the Lehigh Valley being the principal carrier. Rail service ended in 1966. The borough operated its own school district with elementary schools and a high school within its precincts. There were also two Catholic parochial schools in the borough. The borough once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. During most of the borough's history, when coal mining activity was being conducted, the town had a population in excess of 2,000 residents. Another 500 to 600 residents lived in areas immediately adjacent to Centralia.[1]
Mine Fire
It is not known for certain how the fire that made Centralia essentially uninhabitable was ignited. One theory asserts that in May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. The firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for a time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not extinguished correctly.
Other evidence supports this theory, as stated in Joan Quigley's 2007 missive, such as the fact that a trash hauler dumped hot ash and/or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier partly incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the vein of coal underneath the pit and light the subsequent subterranean fire. Quigley cites "interviews with volunteer firemen, the former fire chief, borough officials, and several eyewitnesses, as well as contemporaneous borough council minutes" as her sources for this explanation of the fire.[5] Another theory of note is the Bast Theory. It states that the fire was burning long before the alleged trash dump fire. However, due to overwhelmingly contrary evidence, few hold this position, and it is given little credibility.[5]
The fire remained burning underground and spread through a hole in the rock pit into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the byproducts of the fire, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and a lack of healthy oxygen levels.
In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner and then mayor, John Coddington, inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 °F (77.8 °C). Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old resident Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole four feet wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard. Only the quick work of his cousin Eric Wolfgang in pulling Todd out of the hole saved Todd's life, as the plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was measured as containing a lethal level of carbon monoxide.
In 1984, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. A few families opted to stay despite warnings from Pennsylvania officials.
In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey claimed eminent domain on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP code, 17927. In 2009, Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of Centralia residents. He is facing criticism from some for this move.[1][6]
Today
The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 400 acres (1.6 km²) spreading along four fronts, are low round metal steam vents in the south of the borough and several signs warning of underground fire, unstable ground, and carbon monoxide. Additional smoke and steam can be seen coming from an abandoned portion of Pennsylvania Route 61, the area just behind the hilltop cemetery, and other cracks in the ground scattered about the area. Route 61 was repaired several times until its final closing. The current route was a detour around the damaged portion during the repairs and became a permanent route in 1993; mounds of dirt were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking the road. Pedestrian traffic is still possible due to a small opening about two feet wide at the north side of the road, but this is muddy and not accessible to the disabled. The underground fire is still burning and will continue to do so for an estimated 250-1000 more years.[7]
Prior to their demolition in September 2007, the last remaining house on Locust Avenue was notable for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house, where the house was previously supported by a row of adjacent buildings before it was demolished. Another house with similar buttresses was visible from the northern side of the cemetery, just north of the burning, partially subsumed hillside.[8]
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005, and the fate of the remaining residents is uncertain.[9]
In 2009, John Comarnisky and John Lokitis Jr, were both evicted in May and July, respectively. In 2010, only five homes remain as state officials try to vacate the remaining residents and demolish what's left of the town. As of May, the remaining residents are mounting another legal effort to reverse the 1992 eminent domain claim; they are currently awaiting a jury to begin proceedings.[10]
It is expected that many former residents will return in 2016 to open a time capsule buried in 1966 next to the veterans' memorial.[1]
This gets posted around here a lot but it's still worth a mention. I'm totally going someday.
It's when people sneak into old buildings in their community to see what is going on. In Toronto there's an old church that burned down ~10 years ago that still has stone steps up the steeple and a little area cleared for gatherings. Creative graffiti, a shopping cart and all kinds of stuff that you can hurt yourself on.
It's not nearly as spectacular as the pics in the OP. But it's a bit of uniqueness that can be found close to your neighbourhood.
A lot of it isn't necessarily interesting locations, just HDR making everything look better than it normally does, but this one in particular is awesome:
Cool. Where is it? Cesky raj?
A ghastly place made up of only a few city blocks. The city was controller by neither the British nor the Chinese, and so just kind of grew all by itself. It became a safe haven for refugees, people without a state, and criminals. When it was torn down in 1993 an estimated 50,000 people lived there. They built and maintained absolutely everything themselves.
The entire place looks like some kind of Cyberpunk prison complex.
It doesn't really look like it belongs on Earth.
According to the website it's in China?
Here's another place, though. Giant towers of dirt.
While it's difficult to get to, it's deserted and beautiful.
I have always like Dolly Sods in WV. It's the highest plateu east of the Mississippi and a lot of the trees only have branches on one side because of the wind.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
http://www.artificialowl.net/
It has everything from shipwrecks, to vehicle graveyards, to abandoned buildings. The site is really frustrating to navigate, but the photos can be breathtaking.
One thing that AO has is pictures from Prypiat, which is the town next to Chernobyl.
I've also always liked the Maunsell Forts
They were forts built in the Channel during WWII to serve as early notice/anti aircraft for the UK.
There's also a complete somewhat modern abandoned city somewhere in Cyprus.
Here's a blog link to that city: http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/000985.html
Detroit also has some pretty choice things too. There's a slideshow that's pretty neat on Time
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1882089,00.html
There are a few out in the countryside that are still inhabited, and one or two that have been preserved as tourist destinations, but many are slowly decaying to the wind and moisture of the desert. I suspect those that are left will slowly be fazed out as well.
My Backloggery
as for my contribution:
Socotra Island. It sits off the East coast of India. An estimated 1/3rd of its plant life is found nowhere else on the entire planet.
This is melting though! The crystals don't like being exposed to the air, so apparently they're trying to convince the mining company to reflood the place.
I wish I could go back and see this place for myself. It was prolly disgusting on the inside but damn, its like a borg ship...
what kind of crystals are they?
Selenite, which is apparently gypsum, which is apparent (CaSO4·2H2O)
It is just you.
Warning: huge
Death Valley:
Wikipedia has another great panorama that I'll just link:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Deathvalleysky_nps_big.jpg
I'm not sure why, but images of the night sky over a desert just get to me. I could stare at them for hours.
Also, I feel a little weird recognizing a place that I've never been anywhere near.
i don't have anything like this....
well ok, the White Horse and Caerne giant in England, along with maiden Castle, avesbury stone circle.
but i'm lazy to get pictures.
but the white horse that I got to see was right near Dragonmount, the hill/mountain in england where St. George was believed to have killed the dragon, because nothing grows on top.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Picture of Bombay Beach dried out marina.
Bombay Beach, and a couple other towns that border the Salton Sea, have issues with the water level changing. It swallowed up some trailers and buildings, forcing people to abandon them. Then, the water receded. This has left behind a crust of hardened salty, mud, with wet mud beneath. Fish bones and chemicals literal the area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Mountains The Chocolate Mountains are named for their dark coloring, which is produced from the fact that they are made of iron oxide, so they are covered in rust. On the flater pieces of land, old Indian trails that have been there for centuries stretch this way and that. There are also places where petroglyphs were made in the ground.
http://www.salvationmountain.us/ Salvation Mountain is literally a man-made monument to a man's belief that God wants him to create the monument in the middle of Imperial County. It is a neat place, and I walked the Yellow Brick Road to the top, too.
Yep. Pretty sure I've seen Warhammer 40K terrain looking exactly like those three plants.
That salvation mountain place was in the movie into the wild.
The Great Blue Hole is just missing some giant claw or tentacle popping out and dragging that boat down to its dark hole.
I've watched too much sci fi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloop
I didn't really need another reason to believe the ocean is terrifying but hey there one is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF3IDk9Gek
I went to some out in Oklahoma far too many years ago to admit to.
it's a vast expanse of white that seems like it should end in water. somewhere there should be water. out there, on the horizon. water.
but no, no water. it's just freaky.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Really really amazing video, thank you.
and house it's own jungle:
Check out a bunch of other amazing pics I can't link over from the source National Geographic page:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/01/largest-cave/peter-photography