They might not be the most spectacular shipwrecks you have ever seen, but the story that lead those 2 ships to wreck on the reef coast of new Caledonia is pretty unusual..jpg)
Ever Prosperity grounded in 1965
The strange story of the two "Ever Prosperity". They were twin ships ("Liberty ships"), they had same name and same base port in Monrovia, Liberia. The first "Ever Prosperity" went straight up on the West Coast barrier reef in 1965. The second one did exactly same in 1970. It was the same captain, a Korean man, who had been commanding each ship at the time of her grounding!
Ever Prosperity grounded in 1965
Ever Prosperity grounded in 1970
Ever Prosperity grounded in 1970
Ever Prosperity grounded in 1970
coordinates Ever Prosperity 1970 : 22°27'20.70"S 166°22'00.69"E
google map
coordinates Ever Prosperity 1965 : 21°54'38.45"S 165°45'19.01"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4 5
text source : 1
Artificial Owl recommends:
In Cantwell, Alaska you can stop and see this strange construction, a now abandoned 4 story igloo shaped hotel. I would love to get pictures from the inside.
coordinates : 63°11'15.74"N 149°21'35.74"W
google map
pictures sources : 1
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
Muynak is a city in northern Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. Home to only a few thousand residents at most, Muynak's population has been declining precipitously since the 1980s due to the recession of the Aral Sea.
Once a bustling fishing community, Muynak is now a shadow of its former self, dozens of miles from the rapidly receding shoreline of the Aral Sea. Fishing had always been part of the economy of the region, and Muynak became a center of industrial fishing and canning. A regional agricultural monoculture dominated by cotton production which diverts water from tributary rivers of the sea into irrigation, and severe pollution caused by agricultural chemical runoff, are causing the sea to evaporate and the water that remains is highly saline and very toxic, causing the ecological disaster which is inevitably destroying the sea and killing the residents of the towns in its vicinity, including Muynak.
Muynak is now home to a incongruous armada of rusting hulks that once made up the proud fishing fleet during the Soviet era. Poisonous dust storms kicked up by strong winds across the dried and polluted seabed give rise to a multitude of chronic and acute illnesses among the few residents, weather unmoderated by the sea now buffets the town with hotter-than-normal summers and colder-than-normal winters.
The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest saline body of water, it has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. By 2004, the sea had shrunk to 25% of its original surface area, and a nearly fivefold increase in salinity had killed most of its natural flora and fauna. By 2007 it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into three separate lakes, two of which are too salty to support fish. The once prosperous fishing industry has been virtually destroyed, and former fishing towns along the original shores have become ship graveyards. With this collapse has come unemployment and economic hardship.
The disappearance of the lake was no surprise to the Soviets; they expected it to happen long before. As early as in 1964, Aleksandr Asarin at the Hydroproject Institute pointed out that the lake was doomed explaining, "It was part of the five-year plans, approved by the council of ministers and the Politburo. Nobody on a lower level would dare to say a word contradicting those plans, even if it was the fate of the Aral Sea."
Shrinkage of the Aral sea between 1989 and 2008
coordinates : 43°46'28.87"N 59°02'20.02"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
text source : 1 2
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
I recently "discovered" with great surprise this amazing site on google earth, and was equally amazed by its story. The unfinished "Crimean Atomic Energy Station" (Ukrainian КримськаАЕС, Russian КрымскаяАЭС) was supposed to be a new nuclear power plant for the region of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
It's construction started in 1976 when Crimea was part of USSR. What exactly happened is unclear to me, it seems that the construction lasted almost forever (more than 10 years). Between 1986 and 1989 the station was inspected following the Chernobyl disaster, and was found to be located on a geologically volatile site. Construction of the facility was summarily abandoned.
All the construction equipment was left on the site, I suppose that the situation of the weakened Soviet union plays a role in this messy situation. Part of the nuclear reactors were shipped as spare parts to other nuclear plants of Ukraine.
The building of the nuclear power station entered into the Guinness book of records as the most expensive reactor construction in world history. The nearby city of Shcholkine also commonly known as Shchelkino or Shchyolkino by its Russian name, was constructed in 1978 to house workers of the power plant, the town population was later divided by 2 after the project halted.
coordinates : 45°23'30.52"N 35°48'12.66"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
text source : 1 2
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
Few years ago driving around the city of Aix en provence, south of France I found this derelict combine harvester. It deeply captured my imagination, not sure why.
I can't help but think about the mythical elephant boneyard, where the old ones feeling the death coming would go to rest in peace.
coordinates : 43°30'59.27"N 5°32'29.34"E
google map
pictures sources : Artificial Owl
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
Dear readers,
I have just added one new feature and have a little request for you.
- First the feature, it's a brand new rating system that gathers much better data, and display the most popular posts based on you ratings, I always wanted to get that and just found Outbrain. Check a the bottom of the sidebar for the "Most Popular Posts"
- I would be very thankful if one of you could send me an invitation to join ffffound.com, a very inspirational website that I visit almost every day. Send the invite at admin@artificialowl.net
-Finally I have just relaunched The Artificial Owl Facebook page, so if you want to support the Owl join us!
I'll be back over the week end with some good new posts! Thanks for reading this blog.
The Artificial Owl
Read more [+]
Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse in Jutland Denmark started life on December 27, 1900 (construction started in 1899). The lighthouse is 60 metres above sea level. Until 1908 it operated on gas.
It ceased to operate on August 1, 1968.
Shifting sands and coastal erosion led to the buildings being abandoned in 2002. Prior to their abandonment, the buildings had been used as a museum and coffee shop. The small buildings are now partially buried in sand.
Looking at different era photos, it's interesting to see sand dunes moving around, burying some of the buildings, sometimes uncovering them.
coordinates : 57°26'56.02"N 9°46'27.66"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4
text source : 1
Artificial Owl recommends:
