15 Forgotten Cities That Quietly Disappeared Off The Map

Life is unexpected. We can never be 100% sure of what will be thrown at us. Even with precise planning, something can always arise unexpectedly and create a mess for us.

Over the course of human history, life has thrown curve balls at us, which later resulted in us having to pack up and leave our homes. Be it a natural disaster, or man-made, the place we once considered home was no longer livable, and we were forced to set up shop somewhere else.

This world is full of cities that were once full of people, but later abandoned and then slowly forgotten. Some of those cities we have been able to rediscover many years later, but there are still some that we have yet to find.

Here are 15 cities that were abandoned throughout history.

15 Hashima Island In Japan Was Once The Most Densely Populated Place On Earth

Hashima Island, also known as Gunkanjima or Battleship Island, is a small island that sits off the coast of Japan. Back in the 1950s, this island, which is an estimated 16 acres, had over 5,000 people crammed on it, making it the most densely populated city on the planet. Unfortunately, after the mine closed in 1974, the island was abandoned.

14 Neversink & Bittersweet In New York Were Flooded From Reservoirs

Back in the 1940s, New York City had a short supply of drinking water. In order to bring more water to the city, officials decided to flood out the towns of Neversink and Bittersweet by building reservoirs through them. Before this happened though, the towns were condemned, and the people relocated.

13 Consonno In Italy Was Ended After A Landslide

Once a small medieval town of around 300 residents, Consonno was later invaded by an entrepreneur by the name of Mario Bagno in 1962 who dreamed of turning it into a “City of Toys,” aka a Las Vegas-style resort town. Unfortunately, that dream came to an end in 1976 after a landslide closed off the town from the rest of the world, forcing the residents to abandon it.

12 Mologa In Russia Was Flooded After The Rybinsk Reservoir Was Built

Back in the 1930s, it was decided that the Rybinsk Reservoir would be built right over the town of Mologa and 600 other small villages. Over 130,000 residents were forced out of their homes. Sadly, around 300 people decided to stay and were drowned when the city was flooded in 1940. In 2014, water levels dropped drastically, and parts of the town were exposed.

11 Kolmanskop In Namibia Was Abandoned After World War I

When Kolmanskop was first built back in 1912, it was built on an extremely productive diamond field. To be more specific, it was built on a diamond field that produced 12 percent of the world’s diamonds that year. Unfortunately, after World War 1 though, the discovery of an even bigger deposit was found south, which soon led to the town being abandoned.

10 Centralia In Pennsylvania Was Ended By A Decades-Long Coal Fire

Back in 1960, Centralia had around 1,435 residents. By 2010 though, that number had dwindled down to 10. The city already had hardships, but when a decades-long coal fire started, there was no coming back and the city slowly died off. The government paid for most of the residents to settle somewhere else, but a few residents refused and fought to live out their lives there.

9 Humberstone In Chile Disappeared After Synthetic Fertilizer Was Created

Between the 19^th and 20^th centuries, saltpeter was a huge hit as a fertilizer and Humberstone, as well as a dozen other towns, popped up and built over 200 saltpeter factories. Unfortunately, saltpeter became obsolete after the creation of synthetic fertilizer, which is when all the mining towns slowly faded away.

8 Hallsands In The UK Fell Into The Sea

Back in 1897, the British government began to dredge up sand and gravel, materials that protected the town of Hallsands in Devon. It was later learned that it was because of this that the fishing village fell into the sea in 1917. Luckily, everyone survived, but 128 people were left homeless and only one house survived.

7 Pyramiden In Norway Was Finally Abandoned After A Plane Crash

Pyramiden was once an economically viable Western City with high standards of living. Unfortunately, between the fall of the Soviet Union, which caused the town to lose its economic value, and the 1996 plane crash that ended the lives of 141 people and destroyed the morale of the community, the town was abandoned in 1998.

6 Plymouth In Montserrat Was Destroyed From A Pyroclastic Flow

Back in 1995, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted near the city of Plymouth, which was home to over 4,000 people. In 1997, the pyroclastic flow destroyed the city completely. As of today, not only is the city an exclusion zone that requires special permission to visit, but it’s also still technically the capital of Montserrat island.

5 San Juan Parangaricutiro In Mexico Was Destroyed After A Volcano Formed

At its peak, San Juan Parangaricutiro was home to over 4,000 people and the principal town in its region of Mexico. Unfortunately, on February 20, 1943, a volcano started to form nearby. Once ash started to cover all nearby villages, the people were evacuated. Once it erupted though, it demolished the town of San Juan. Today, it’s a tourist site and only the 18th-century church is visible.

4 Dronki In Belarus Fell After The Chernobyl Disaster

After the Chernobyl disaster, many cities were left abandoned. To be more exact, an estimated 470 villages and towns were abandoned. Many of the cities such as Dronki and Aravichy are now located in what has become the Polessye State Radioecological Reserve, which has now become a large nature preserve.

3 Survival Town In Nevada Was Used For The Apple-2 Nuclear Test

So, when it comes to Survival Town, no one ever actually lived here. This town was only used to monitor the results of the Apple-2 nuclear test in 1955. The town had everything one would find in a populated town, the only thing different though, was that it was inhabited by mannequins instead of people. Today, only a few buildings are left standing, and although the mannequins are in rough shape, a lot of their clothes remain intact.

2 The Little Americas In Antarctica Drifted Off To Sea On Icebergs

Over the last several decades, there have been a total of five Little Americas that were set up in Antarctica, only one had a post office and newspaper facility though and was actually a big success until they were shut down in 1935. After they were abandoned, the Little Americas drifted out to sea on icebergs and were never found.

1 Nan Madol In The Federated States Of Micronesia Is The Only Ancient City To Be Built On A Reef

Nan Madol, which is located off the shore of Pohnpei, is known as the only ancient city in existence to ever have been on top of a coral reef. The city, which was built around 1200 CE, was made up of 92 artificial islands. In the center was the Saudeleur dynasty, which ruled for four hundred years, before a warrior named Isokelekel showed up and overthrew them, leading to the city being abandoned.

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