In fact, some of the most experienced members of the urbex community—including Dan Bell and YouTube sensation Exploring With Josh —frequently use Google Maps to identify locations for their next urbex videos. The two-step process outlined below will help you effectively use Google searches in combination with Google Maps to find great places to explore.
Believe it or not, even the most basic Google searches can yield surprisingly useful information on how to find abandoned places. While Google will typically default to showing you results relevant to your area, it may not always accurately identify your location, or it may not show specific enough results for you to work with.
Operators instruct your search engine to only bring you results that contain a specific keyword or phrase within quotation marks. The plus sign is critical, as it tells Google that you only want to see results that include all of your search terms on a single page.
Using operators can save you hours of reviewing pages of mostly irrelevant results to find the occasional gem. You can also try using very specific terms that might net useful information. As you look through the results of your searches, note the general location—or specific address when possible—of any candidates for further consideration, as well as any other useful details about the site type of structure, last known use, property owner, etc.
This will give you an aerial satellite view of your desired location, which will provide you with much more essential detail about the site under consideration. Google will locate the site and show you the most recent aerial view of the building or structure. Though apocalyptic, there's something beautiful about abandoned places.
The clocks have stopped ticking and there's not a soul in sight, but the shell of what used to be remains. Abandoned places show us what happens without consistent human upkeep—and perhaps what could even happen to the places we love and frequent. These spots are haunting , and there is a mysterious beauty in neglect. The following locations albeit somewhat weathered over time , are some of the most striking we've ever seen. Read on to see the most beautiful abandoned places in the world—and learn their backstories.
You'll almost feel voyeuristic looking at them, like you're witnessing a very intimate piece of someone else's life Shrouded in fog and beguiling fall foliage in the Alaskan wilderness, the Kennicott Mines and surrounding town are almost as creepy as Packard Sawmill in Twin Peaks.
The town of Kennecott was once flourishing with copper miners and their families until resources were depleted by the late s and all of the townspeople fled—except for a family of three.
It was totally abandoned by the s when the family watching over it finally left. Though well past its glory days, the international Canfranc train station in Huesca, Spain, still leaves a majestic impression. It was once one of the most frequented train stations in Europe, and the second largest one at the time of its construction in It was closed when a train derailed on the French side of the bridge.
Though you would never know from looking at its current state, Grossinger's, in Liberty, New York, used to be a luxurious weekend escape in Upstate New York. In its heyday, it was similar to the resort in Dirty Dancing some even say Grossinger's was the inspiration behind the film.
Due to an economic downfall in the town, the resort closed its doors in Talk about apocalyptic. This semi-submerged prison has a dark past. Prisoners were forced to work in the quarry until it was abandoned in the early s when Estonia gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Without any people maintaining the area, it eventually flooded with water. And today, it's actually a beach—so if this is your idea of a dream beach vacation, go get your scuba diving license and book a ticket.
Bougainvillea and the Adriatic sea rule in this abandoned hotel on the Croatian coast. Hotel Goricina was once a luxe hotel in a Yugoslavian military resort, which was destroyed in the Croatian War of Independence, along with a string of other hotels. Located on the lush Japanese island of Hachijojima, Hachijo Royal Hotel was once one of the country's largest resorts. The French Baroque architecture juxtaposed against the moss and overgrown trees is eerie.
Creepy, sure, but the cheerful sky blue paint or what's left of it and that pretty swirly window also remind us of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Dating back to the s, this complex functioned as a military hospital during times of war.
The surrounding area was abandoned in the mid s when Soviet forces withdrew from Germany. In the s, copper mining took off in the village of Geamana in the Romanian countryside. When the mining created an enormous amount of toxic waste, the dictator at the time, Nicolae Ceausescu, mandated total evacuation around families so the valley could be used as a toxic dump site.
Though the town was flooded by an artificial lake and tons of toxic waste, you can still see this resilient tower poking through. Despite being in existence since , much of this town's population evacuated during the 20th century due to poor agriculture, a landslide in , and a flood in Now it's an ancient site so striking that is even that has served as the set for movies like The Passion of the Christ.
A drought in southern Mexico has caused water levels surrounding this year-old church to drop approximately 80 feet. Though the circumstances aren't exactly something to celebrate, they've allowed the temple that's usually hidden below the water to emerge—a stunning-yet-eerie reminder of how things are not always what they seem. This fishing village on China's Yangtze River isn't your average forgotten town — its lush buildings covered in ivy and greenery are surprisingly tranquil and striking.
The Chinese website where they first surfaced called the area the " Wizard of Oz's dream. Built in , these offshore fortified towers were designed to provide anti-aircraft fire during the Second World War.
After they were decommissioned in the late s, a number of the structures were re-occupied by pirate radio stations. However, for the past three decades the forts have stood abandoned and largely ignored. Empty and unfinished for nearly two decades, this failed energy project in South Carolina got a new lease of life in as an underwater film set for science-fiction thriller The Abyss.
Forgotten once again after filming finished, the sets were left on the site until they were finally demolished in However, there is hope on the horizon: a new power plant is due to be built adjacent to the old structure. A vast stretch of snow-covered bleakness, this Ukrainian city has been deserted since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April In just four hours, Pripyat's entire population was evacuated, and with radiation remaining too high for human habitation, the people never returned.
Among the overwhelming sense of abandonment, the most iconic reminder of the disaster is a rusting ferris wheel in an amusement park that was due to open just days after the accident took place. A maze of cracked concrete, crumbling plaster and snapshots of frozen lives, Battleship Island in Japan resembles a long-forgotten war zone.
It was deserted overnight after the closure of its coal mine in Fallen facades of buildings expose abandoned places littered with reminders of their inhabitants: shoes remain where they were kicked off, half-read newspapers litter the floor and once-loved posters slowly peel off bedroom walls.
A rotting carcass of deserted corridors and empty patient wards, this military hospital in Berlin once housed German and Soviet soldiers, but has been largely unused since the late s. Derelict it may be, but it has not been entirely abandoned; empty bottles and rubbish scattered on the ground hint at the disparate groups of opportunistic looters. Weekend wanderers, curious travellers and inspired photographers are drawn to the decayed aesthetic of this moribund site.
During the Cold War this top-secret submarine base was a hive of activity. Hidden in the hillside and designed to withstand a direct atomic attack, this giant underground complex once housed a fleet of Soviet nuclear warheads and submarines.
Once so secret that the surrounding town of Balaklava had to be erased from maps, today, visitors can explore the maze of dark winding canals that make up this now deserted site. Continue reading to find out more about Varosha, Cyprus 6. Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang 7.
0コメント