Argentine ghost town emerges from under water
Epecuen was once a bustling lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season. During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas.
When a particularly heavy rainstorm followed a series of wet winters, the lake overflowed its banks on Nov. 10, 1985. Water burst through a retaining wall and submerged the lakeside streets. People fled with what they could, but a few days later, their homes were drowned under nearly 33 feet of corrosive saltwater.
Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and set up new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials.
Many residents of Epecuen fled to nearby Carhue, another lakeside town, and set up new hotels and spas, promising relaxing getaways featuring saltwater and mud facials.
The water that has covered the village for decades has mostly receded, exposing what looks like a scene from the end of the world.
The town was never rebuilt, but it has become a tourist destination once again, for people willing to drive at least six hours from Buenos Aires along 340 miles of narrow country roads.
The village was once home to 1,500 residents before it started flooding.
The saltwater lake that submerged this village was particularly attractive because it has 10 times more salt than the ocean, making the water buoyant. Tourists, especially people from Buenos Aires' large Jewish community, enjoyed floating in water that reminded them of the Dead Sea in the Middle East.
People come to see the rusted hulks of automobiles and furniture, crumbled homes and broken appliances. They climb staircases that lead nowhere, and wander through a graveyard where the water toppled headstones and exposed tombs to the elements.
