About 570 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires lies the remains of a deserted resort town on the coast of Laguna Epecuén in Argentina. Named Villa Epecuén, the town was founded in the early 1920s as a vacation resort for the well-heeled in Buenos Aires to get away from it all.
The town would prosper for over 50 years, eventually peaking in the 1970s. Villa Epecuén was a true paradise until a breach in the dam in 1985 would see it completely submerged. 25 years later the waters have finally receded, revealing what little is left of what was once a thriving vacation town.
*
*
Villa Epecuén in its heyday:
(Click thumbnails to enlarge)
Growth & Prosperity
For centuries there have been tales of the healing powers of Laguna Epecuén, its unusually-high salinity rumored to have therapeutic properties for the treatment of depression, diabetes, and skin disease, among others. The very name of the lake ‘Epecuén‘ translates to “eternal spring.”
This eternal spring was lethal, however; what plagued Laguna Epecuén was similar to what was facing the residents around the Salton Sea in the United States. These bodies of water have salinity levels ten times higher than any ocean. For Villa Epecuén, this would not be an issue as long as the rock dam along the coastline was able to keep the waters at bay.
When rail service was added to Villa Epecuén in the 1950s, tourism began to grow even more rapidly. By the 1960s the town was seeing over 25,000 visitors annually, and by the 1970s the town population peaked at 5,000 residents.
*
Disaster
What the residents did not realize was the natural threat Laguna Epecuén would pose to the small town if extreme precipitation should occur over time.
This is precisely what would happen; for decades heavy rain in the area would raise the water level of Epecuén until one day it would penetrate the rock walls protecting the town.
On November 10th, 1985 the swelling of Laguna Epecuén finally breached the dams and flooded the town with four feet of the corrosive salt water.
The flooding was catastrophic, but moved slowly; it would gradually worsen until the town was eventually submerged under 33 feet (10m) of water in 1993.
*
Weather Reversal
By 2009 the area had undergone two decades of light precipitation and the lake started to shrink again. As the water dried up old shoreline was once-again exposed, seeing daylight for the first time in nearly 25 years.
What was left was a ghastly display of the damaging effects of the waters of Laguna Epecuén. In just over two decades the water managed to completely destroy the town.
(click thumbnails to enlarge)
Life in submerged water with extremely high salinity levels proved inhospitable for the trees as well.
Once growing for generations, they now sit just like the abandoned buildings as dead relics of this once-proud town.
Nothing is free from the wrath of corrosion in Villa Epecuén; porcelain bath fixtures rust away alongside abandoned vehicles and appliances. Rusted bed frames protrude from piles of collapsed concrete.
Paint shows the effects of prolonged saltwater exposure, and the remains of random concrete structures litter the landscape.
(click thumbnails to enlarge)
Also submerged for 25 years were the tombs of the dead. Temporarily free from their saltwater prison, they lay safe for now… until the next flood?
present-day pictures courtesy Juan Mabromata/AFP
*
*
Explore Villa Epecuén on Google maps below!
*
Watch bike trials rider Danny MacAskill ride through Epecuén in this well produced video (courtesy S-I reader Jordan):
**
Another interesting post. Your blog title seems overly modest 🙂
Andy is right. Amazing post. Can i repost this on my blog ?
Cristi,
By all means feel free to share, thanks!
Thanks man, I live in Buenos Aires and never heard about this place before and ironically, I did hear about Salton sea.
Reblogged this on Simple.Interesting. and commented:
Villa Epecuen…..enjoy !
i’m glad i found your site.. this is a very interesting post, thank you for sharing.
Absolutely amazing! The pictures are something to behold. I’ve never seen anything like it before. But I guess, that’s what this great blog is about, right? 😉
i love this article, great job…i love historical nerdy shit like this!!
Reminds me of Thomas Cole’s series of paintings, “The Course of Empire,” but in an accelerated version (and without the barbarian invasion).
Wonder if anything ever will/or even could ever be built on this land again? (At least a much better damn)
Danny Macaskill, a famous bike trials rider just filmed a video in Epecuen
http://youtu.be/PiF5HHkHvX0
Great video, thanks for the share Jordan. I’ve added it to the post, thank you! 🙂
This is an amazing story… I am argentine and hadn´t heard of Villa Epecuen´s tragedy, so I appreciate it a lot… All the best to you! 🙂
Great to hear from you! It’s a beautiful country, I wonder how the town is doing now in the years since the flooding & receding. Thanks for the comment! 🙂