Some cities end up underwater due to storm induced flooding and inadequate storm drainage while others are submerged as part of a plan to build a large dam. Whatever the cause the results are quite spectacular as can be seen in the following examples.
China’s Submerged Lion City
The ancient City of Lion was submerged 53 years ago beneath what is now Thousand Island Lake or Qiandao Lake when Xin’an River Dam was constructed to create a hydroelectric station. The lake and thousands of islands in it are man-made. The city was about the size of 60 football fields and archaeologists and a film crew recently recorded the lost ruins.
New Tourist Attraction
It was decided to make the underwater city accessible to tourists. A special submarine 3.8 meters by 23 meters with a capacity of 48 passengers was built at a cost of $6 million. The submarine brings the underwater kingdom alive!
Water Recedes From A City Submerged For 25 Years
On November 10,1985 water burst over a stone wall embankment separating a town called Villa Epecuen and its lake 325 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, flooding it. Much like the Dead Sea the resort was famous for its saltwater baths and spas and attracted 20,000 tourists every season.
Epecuen was underwater for 25 years. A series of dry years in the early 2000s caused the floods to recede by 2007 uncovering the once lively town.
The breach in 1985 occurred after a series of wet winters with a heavy rain storm finally causing the lake to overflow its banks. A strong wind pushed water throughout the town. Engineers came up with plans for routing the water away from the town but they never came to fruition as they were too expensive
The city has not yet been rebuilt, but tourists are starting to come back to look at the remains of rusted cars, homes and everything that existed on the day of the flood two and half decades ago.
Now that the water has receded former residents and tourists are talking about a revival of the attraction.
