An Argentinian ghost town that was submerged beneath water for 25 years has now surfaced in rural farm country just southwest of Buenos Aires.
The town, named Epecuen, was a lively lakeside resort in its heyday, serving up to 20,000 tourists during the travel season. Now abandoned, the ruins of the once bustling small city life on the eastern shore of the Laguna Epecuen, around four miles north of Cahue.
The seventies and eighties were Argentina's golden age, when trains that exported grain also imported scores of travelers from the nearby capital, who came to Epecuen to get away from the city, and relax in the lavish natural springs.
The saltwater lake had 10 times more salt than the ocean, which made the water buoyant. Many tourists from Buenos Aires' Jewish community floated down the body of water, reminiscent of the Dead Sea in the Middle East, reported CBS News.
After an enormous rainstorm and a succession of wet winters, the lake overflowed. On November 10, 1985, water flooded through a retainer wall, splashed onto the streets, and decimated homes. Citizens fled with what little belongings they could grab, and in just a few days, the entire city was gone, swallowed up by 33 feet of saltwater.
Since then, the water has receded, peeling back the curtain on what CBS described as "a scene from a movie about the end of the world."
The Associated Press released photos of the area that depict endless, grey rubble, cement blocks, and trees stripped bare of their leaves.
The eerie, almost apocalyptic lands lend a strange feeling to all visitors.
One man did not depart, however, and Pablo Novak, 82, now lives on the edge of town, acting as a sort of tour guide to anyone who comes to meander the empty streets.
"Whoever passes nearby cannot go without coming to visit here," Novak said, "it's getting more people to the area, as they come to see the ruins."
