13 Haunting Abandoned Cities Slowly Being Swallowed by Nature

11. Humberstone and Santa Laura, Chile: The Nitrate Ghost Towns

Humberstone and Santa Laura, located in the Atacama Desert of Chile, were once bustling nitrate mining towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The towns thrived on the production of sodium nitrate, a key ingredient in fertilizers and explosives. However, the development of synthetic alternatives led to their decline, and they were abandoned by the mid-20th century. Today, Humberstone and Santa Laura are ghost towns, their rusting machinery and decaying buildings standing as silent witnesses to a bygone era. Visitors to these towns can explore the remnants of their industrial past, experiencing the haunting beauty of the desert landscape as nature slowly reclaims what was once a thriving human settlement.