Lost in the Water: 11 Sunken Ghost Towns You Can Visit (PHOTOS)

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1. Villa Epecuén, Argentina

Established in the 1920s and located along the shore of Lake Epecuén, a salt lake in Argentina, the village of Villa Epecuén was a thriving resort town for decades. Tourists flocked to the spa town, which was known for its healing waters. But in the 1980s, the climate began to get wetter and as more and more rain fell, Lake Epecuén, which has no outlet, grew. After a particularly severe storm on November 10, 1985, Lake Epecuén burst through a dyke and flooded the town, submerging everything under 33 feet of salt water, according to NASA. Drier weather allowed the ghost town to reemerge in 2009, revealing salt water-bleached ruins and abandoned, decrepit buildings. 

2. St. Thomas, Nevada

Within the boundaries of Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada, lies the ghost town of St. Thomas. The town, which was once a Mormon settlement and a stopping point between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City along the Arrowhead Trail, was abandoned in 1930s after the construction of the Hoover Dam caused the Colorado River to rise—the area was submerged in 60 feet of water when Lake Mead first filled up. But because of the severe drought that has gripped the Western United States and caused the lowered water levels of Lake Mead, eerie remnants of the ghost town can now be seen, according to the National Park Service. St. Thomas lies in the northern part of the park near the Overton Arm along the Muddy River, which feeds into Lake Mead. Visitors can use the dirt trail leading to the town site from the parking area.

3. Rummu, Estonia

Located in northwestern Estonia, Rummu quarry was used as a mining site for Vasalemma marble (a type of limestone). When the nearby prison was closed, pumps that kept the quarry and the prison dry were shut down, submerging the buildings in the area. The sunken ghost town is now a popular site for divers, who want to explore the underwater prison in clear, blue waters. Visitors should note, however, that the area is an unofficial, unguarded swimming and diving spot.

4. Geamana, Romania

The village of Geamana was once a picturesque village located in the Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, and home to around 400 families. But in the 1970s, locals were forced to leave the village so that the government could create an artificial lake that would house chemical waste resulting from copper extraction by a state-owned copper mine. Today, only the tower of Geamana's old church is visible above the toxic sludge, and the village has become a prime example of mining waste and environmental degradation.

5. Graun, Lake Reschen, Italy

It is an artificial lake, but Reschensee (Lake Reschen) is one of the most fairytale-esque places of South Tyrol, Italy. Out in the tuquoise waters of the lake, a submerged steeple of a 14th-century church—the only visible remnant of the flooded village of Graun—can be seen protruding from the water. The village, its church, and more than 160 homes were sacrificed to make way for the construction of a dam.  The site is also a tourist destination in all seasons, but in the winter, visitors can walk across the frozen lake to explore the bell tower.

6. Krokhino, Russia

7. Zapalnya, Bulgaria

The half-submerged church St. Ivan Rilski is the only remaining evidence of the existence of the Bulgarian village of Zapalnya, which residents were forced to leave in the 1960s for the construction of a dam. Built in 1895, St. Ivan Rilski church was once the heart of life in the valley, and Zapalnya was known for rose oil production at the time of the Ottoman Empire, according to The Daily Mail. Today, the crumblinf stone structure is a haunting sight, as if floating in a few feet of water.

8. Kalyazin, Russia

Kalyazin, Russia's "Flooded Belfry," a steepled Neoclassical belfry that was once part of the St. Nicholas Church, rises over 200 feet above the waters of the Uglich Reservoir on the Volga River. The eye-catching campanile has attracted visitors to the area, which was once the home of the old town of Kalyazin. The town, which included many medieval structures, was flooded in 1940 when the Uglich Reservoir was built, and today, the waters hide hundreds of years of history.

9. Petrolandia, Brazil

Petrolandia was a town in Brazil near the river of Sao Francisco, which was moved when the Luiz Gonzaga Dam was constructed. The only structure left standing is the church, its arches still visible above the water. 

10. Alassa, Cyprus

If the remains of its old church, built in 1939, wasn't peeking above the water, there would be little evidence of the existence of the village of Alassa. The town had had to be relocated in the late 1980s when the Kouris Dam, Cyprus' largest dam, was built. Today, divers and snorkelers (who don't mind the cold water) visit the site to explore flooded church.

11. San Romà de Sau, Spain

The creation of a reservoir flooded the village of San Romà de Sau, in Catalonia, Spain, forcing residents to abandon their town, which has been inhabited for a millenium. The residents reportedly had to exhume their dead loved ones before the town was purposely flooded. All the structures, and Rmanesque ruins, were completely submerged. When the reservoir is high, only the tip of the church spire can be seen, but during periods of drought, the entire church emerges on dry land, according to Atlas Obscura. During one such dry period, workers fortified the remaning structure, and the church was reinforced with concrete.

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