Ghost Towns

Ghost Towns

A Deserted Town In 1862, John White found gold by a creek in what is now Montana. Soon after, many people went there in hopes of finding more gold. By the next year, about three thousand people lived in the nearby town. Millions of dollars' worth of gold was found there. Once gold became hard to find, the town turned into a ghost town.

Ghost towns are places where people no longer live. As shown on the map above, these empty towns are found around the world. People often leave a town because of some threat or because they can no longer find work. Visitors imagine what life was like for the people who once called these places home.

Resources Vanish Many ghost towns, like the one in Montana, are left after a resource runs out. In 1908, a railroad worker found a diamond in an African desert. People moved to the area, and soon a new town was born. After diamonds became hard to find there, everyone left.

An animal can also be an important resource. An island in the Atlantic Ocean is home to a haunting ghost town that was once a busy whaling port. In the 1900s, many companies on the island hunted whales. Over time, there were fewer whales around the island. Whaling companies were soon gone, and everyone left the island. Buildings, boats, and equipment can still be found in this deserted town.

Forces of Nature Some places become ghost towns because of natural events. More than ten thousand people used to live on an island in the Caribbean Sea. A volcano on the island had not been active for many years. In 1995, the volcano erupted, and it has been active ever since. The capital city was left in ruins. More than half the people who lived on the island have moved away.