We humans often build roads and bridges, canals and ports, even entire cities at the expense of the environment. But nature isn't planning on giving up. On the contrary, it is determined to persevere, showing just how fragile our creations are.
Maybe you remember our earlier list on Mother Nature reclaiming its territories, maybe not, but time passes and bricks continue to crumble, so Bored Panda decided to refresh your memory on the topic.
We put together a new batch of photos to show that nature is a force to be reckoned with and that ultimately, the world belongs to it. As much as we would like to think otherwise.
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Tree That Grew From The Inside Of An Abandoned Chimney
A cool example of how nature takes back what rightfully belongs to it is Tikal, one of the most famous remnants of the Maya civilization. When author and journalist Alan Weisman hiked through the surrounding region, he discovered something fascinating on his way: "You're walking through this really dense rainforest, and you're walking over hills," Weisman told Live Science. "And the archaeologists are explaining to you that what you're really walking over are pyramids and cities that haven't been excavated."
We know about sites like Tikal because humans have gone to great efforts to dig up and restore their remains. Meanwhile, countless other ruins remain hidden, sealed beneath forest and dirt. "It's just amazingly thrilling how fast nature can bury us," Weisman said.
The Gate Keeper At The Abandoned Putzar Castle In Germany
Found This Beautiful Tree Growing Inside An Abandoned Silo While I Was Exploring
This scene from Guatemala's rainforest allows us a glimpse of what our planet could look like if humans were no more. Lately, have been getting snippets of this idea, as the global COVID-19 pandemic has kept people inside, encouraging animals to return to our quieter urban environments. Weisman, who wrote The World Without Us, spent several years interviewing experts and systematically developing scenarios that would unfold in our planet if we disappeared.
This Chinese Fishing Village Was Abandon In The 1990s. Nature Has All But Reclaimed It (Houtouwan, China)
Old Shiva Temple Firmly Embraced By The Sacred Bodhi Tree In Bangladesh
In his research, Weisman started by taking a look at cities, where some of the most dramatic and immediate changes would occur, thanks to a sudden lack of human maintenance. Without people to run pumps that divert rainfall and rising groundwater, the subways of huge sprawling cities like London and New York would flood within hours of our disappearance. "[Engineers] have told me that it would take about 36 hours for the subways to flood completely," he said.
This Tree Grew Inside The Stop Sign
Railroad Tracks In The Forest (Taiwan)
Without human oversight, glitches in oil refineries and nuclear plants would go unchecked, likely resulting in massive fires, nuclear explosions, and devastating nuclear fallout. "There's going to be a gush of radiation if suddenly we disappear. And that's a real wildcard, it's almost impossible to predict what that's going to do," Weisman explained.
In the wake of our demise, we would also leave behind mountains of waste — much of it plastic, which would likely persist for thousands of years, with huge effects on wildlife.
This Vine Climbed Up A Chair To Silence My Wind Chime
Boat Wreck Reclaimed By Nature And Turned Into An Island
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — human-made chemicals such as PCBs that currently can’t be broken down in nature — would also leave a mark. "Some of these POPs may be around until the end of time on Earth. In time, however, they will be safely buried away." The combined rapid and slow release of all the polluting waste we leave behind would undoubtedly have damaging effects on surrounding habitats and wildlife, however, that doesn't necessarily mean total destruction: one quick look at the rebounding of wildlife at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster shows that nature can be resilient on short timescales, even under such extremes.
Meanwhile, petroleum waste that spills or seeps into the ground at industrial sites and factories would be broken down and reused by microbes and plants in just a few decades.
Abandoned Synagogue
Abandoned Castle In Ireland
Real Grass Growing Through The Fake Grass
With all that polluting legacy unfolding, water running underground in cities would corrode the metal structures that hold up the streets above subterranean transport systems, and whole avenues would collapse, transforming suddenly into mid-city rivers, Weisman said.
Over successive winters, without our regular de-icing, pavements would crack and provide new niches for seeds to take root — carried on the wind and excreted by overflying birds — and develop into trees that continue the gradual dismemberment of pavements and roads. The same would happen to bridges. Add some general degradation and these structures could collapse within a few hundred years.
A Friend Found This Out Hiking And Posted It On FB, Thought It Was Pretty Cool
I'm assuming the fabric and padding created a moist coarse surface for the moss to exploit.
It's a sad reflection on our society that even muppets can be murdered and dumped in the woods. Netflix docuseries coming soon
The Roots Grow According To The Pavement Pattern
An Agave Growing Massive In This Long-Abandoned Greenhouse
Found A Tree Growing Through A Stone Wall
Tree: "I'll just squeeze through here..." * inhales, tucks branches in*
With all this fresh new habitat opening up, nature would march in, pasting over the formerly concrete jungle with grasslands, shrubbery, and dense stands of trees. Weisman said that would cause the accumulation of dry organic material, such as leaves and twigs. "Fires are going to create a lot of charred material that will fall to the street, which is going to be terrific for nurturing biological life. The streets will convert to little grasslands and forests growing up within 500 years," he said.
Tree Growing Around A Hiking Sign
130,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Skull Encased In Stalagmites, Found In A Sinkhole In A Cave In Italy
Abandoned Bridge In New Zealand
I like the thought behind this. People obviously needed to cross at this place urgently enough to build a bridge. And then they didn't.
This Tree Has Grown Round The Railing
According to Weisman, buildings would degrade from hundreds of years of damage from erosion and fire. The first to topple would be modern glass and metal structures that would shatter and rust.
On the other hand, "buildings that will last the longest are the ones made out of the Earth itself" — like stone structures, Weisman added. But even those would ultimately become a softened version of themselves: the defined, iconic skylines we know so well today would disappear.
Ghostly Overgrown Villa In Germany
It's sad, that most of these places are in Germany, or somewhere in that area.
Old Abandoned Tracks
This Oak Tree Growing Through A Railing
Earth might eventually become lusher and more diverse — but we should also address climate change, arguably humanity's most indelible impact on the planet. Weisman said that making useful predictions about what will unfold can be tricky. For example, if there are explosions at industrial plants, or oil or gas wellheads that continue to burn long after we're all gone, huge amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide would continue to be discharged into the atmosphere.
But carbon dioxide doesn't stay suspended in the atmosphere forever: our oceans are essential to absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. Of course, there are still limits to how much of it the ocean can take up without its own waters acidifying to unhealthy levels — potentially to the detriment of thousands of marine species.
Becoming One With Nature
Nature Wins Again. Found This While Hiking In Boothbay, Maine
It looks like the tree is about to chew up and swallow the tombstone of mister Alfred Caswell.
This Overgrown Boat We Saw. Nature Ship "Ms Heimliche Liebe"
This Abandoned Greenhouse
Legend has it that if you visit this place at midnight on June 21st you will see the ghost of Mr Robert Lloyd proposing marriage to the ghost of Miss Violet Carstairs on her 21st birthday. Tragically, six weeks later they both died in a freak pruning accident
Taking a glimpse at this imagined future might inspire us to be more mindful of our actions. Weisman sees an inherent value to visualizing a world without us. That is why he decided to write his book in the first place. He explained that when he started out, he was conscious that many people avoid environmental stories because it makes them feel bad about contributing to the damage we're doing to the planet, and how in turn, that's hastening our own demise. "I found out a way to get rid of the fear factor was just to kill [humans] off first," he said.
This Plant Has Been Trying To Stealthily Steal My Broom For Months
Mossy Initiation Path In The Quinta Da Regaleira, Portugal
Honest question...What would have been the purpose for building this?
Radioactive Cars From The Fukushima Disaster Slowly Being Eaten By Nature
House Abandoned And Retaken By The Desert In California
Quasi-Legible Moss Growing In The Letters Of This Fallen Tombstone
A Piano Left To Nature
Fern Growing Under A Circular Roof Hole
Abandoned Roller Coaster Being Taken Over By Nature
Nature Took Over. 1965 vs. 2012
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133149/Pictures-abandoned-Halcyon-Hall-Bennett-College-ready-demolished.html The story of this one.
Field probably doesn't belong to the same owner as the building's property. Notice the fence?
Load More Replies...Thank you Isabelle for your unfortunately unique comment. Lots of misplaced concerns and praiseworthiness here.
Load More Replies...I guess it's a "no funner," but the first thing I thought of was: "Damn, and all the homeless people."
Such a majestic estate/hotel - and then just left ot rot. What a waste.
I once lived in a house where I was trying to get it vine-covered so I wouldn't have to re-paint it every few years!
it looks even more buetiful than before id actully live ther if ther is wifi and food and a t.v
Wouldn't it be better if it was restored to its original beauty, Harry Potter?
Load More Replies...Ivy Overtaking A Car
Abandoned Place Reclaimed By Nature
MS World Discoverer Was A German Expedition Cruise Ship. It Hit A Uncharted Reef In The Sandfly Passage, Solomon Islands, 29 April, 2000
Abandoned Tank
Took My Dad To See If His First Car Was Still Where He Left It When Its Engine Seized - 40 Years Ago. It Was
A Tree Somehow Growing In A Mexico City's Pedestrian Bridge
This Blanket Has Been Sitting Since October. A Species Of Creeping Ivy Started Growing Through It, But Only Thriving Where The Black Bands Of Color Are
While My Sister Was On A Long Business Trip An Outdoor Plant Grew Indoors Through A Locked Window
This Tree Swallowing A Trespassing Sign
Apartment Complex In Keelung, Taiwan Slowly Overtaken By Trees
Tree That Grew Through And Around A Wagon Wheel
This Gate Has Been Open For So Long That A Bush Has Grown Around It
Abandoned Paper Mill With Nature Starting To Take Over
Hotel In Southern Europe
Waterway Underneath An Old Spanish Arms Factory Being Overtaken By Nature: Like A Scene From LoTR
If you wait till nightfall, in the moonlight, the Elven runes appear. Speak Friend and enter.
Reclamation In Overdrive, New Orleans
Jet Graveyard
I find it interesting that these "graveyards" even exist... I guess it's not worthwhile recycling the materials otherwise it would have been done already.
This Abandoned Railroad In Hemlock Forest Taiwan
Old Hotel Room (Europe, 2012)
WW2 Bomber Being Swallowed Up By Jungle Undergrowth. Photos By Bruce Mcpherson
I AM AN ABSOLUTE FAN OF THESE PLANES IT LOOKS SO COOL AND ITS FIRE POWER IS INCREDIBLE
Cactus Growing Out Of A Water Pipe
This Ruined Church With A Tree Growing In The Middle
A Tree Growing In An Abandoned Mansion
Abandoned And Overgrown College In Gali, Abkhazia
Georgia the country I believe if you were wondering what "Abkhazia" was
Abandoned Intersection Near Ottawa
Abandoned Soviet Monument In Krasnodar, Russia
This, and what it symbolized, can rot for all I care. The old Soviet system was oppressive, repressive, soul-sucking, and dangerous for anyone who didn’t toe their very narrow line. Let it die out.
This House Belongs To The Trees Now
This Tree Grew Inside An Old Silo And Finally Made It To The Top
Mushrooms Growing Out Of A Scooter Seat
Abandoned Cars In The Ardennes
Nature Takes Everything Back Eventually
*insert joke of communal transport never being on time here*
Abandoned Poolhouse Overgrown By Plants
This Tree That Has Absorbed Its Bench Over The Years
My Great Aunts House Slowly Being Reclaimed By Nature Taken On My Trip To Mexico Last Year
Abandoned Cottage In England
Some nice collectibles to be had in there! That oil lamp would come up a treat with some TLC...
Mother Nature Always Wins
Ok, now it's just being childish. It had a perfectly nice pot to grow in
This Is Insane
Just Some Grass Growing On A Lawnmower
This Weed Growing Inside My Patio Fell Over Then Continued Growing Upwards
Unabandoned Train Station
I think the UK government made a mistake closing minor railway routes in the UK... now they want to put in HS2: high speed rail network to connect northern urban centers with London. that will cost many billions of pounds and will destroy a multitude of both inhabited (by human beings) and natural areas.
Alcatraz Island
A Vine Grew Up My Basketball Hoop
This Cool Gravestone That Nature's Reclaimed
Tree Growing Around A Letterbox
The Way How The Tree Roots Grow Follows The Gaps Between Bricks
The tree roots are beautiful; the title is bothering me more than it should
The New World Mall, In Bangkok, Was Closed In 1997 After It Was Found To Have Breached Building Regulations
Due To The Quarantine, Nature Is Starting To Reclaim The Stairwells At The University Where I Work
Low Mileage Driver
Sidewalk In São Paulo, Brazil, Completely Ruined By Roots That Grew Over Time
Abandoned Railroad Tracks In Forest
Abandoned Wagakawa Hydro Power Plant, Japan
Trees Growing Through This Car
That car was a beauty a long, long time ago... Car's ghost singing "A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile/And I knew if I had my chance/That I could make those people dance/And maybe they'd be happy for a while..." (Thank you Mr D. McLean for those poignant lyrics)
This Tree Growing Through A Fence
Gates Only Unlock On One Side, Causing That Half The Path To Grow Wild
Cool, but why? What’s the point of a gate for a two-lane pathway that only locks on one side?
The Inside Of A Castle Near Where I Live, Ireland
Wonder about the family that lived there. Whatever happened to them, and when and why did they abandon their home?
Abandoned Altar In The Woods
This Car Was Left On My Grandparents’ Property When They Bought It
Abandoned Hospital In Khovrino, Moscow
This Tree That Grew Over A Parking Sign Over The Years
Some trees like Sycamores- which I think this may be- grow very quickly...
Stumbled Upon This While Surveying In Upstate New York
Wonder what kind of building it was, back when it was still alive, and if good or bad things happened there.
The Royal Alexandra Nursing Home In Paisley, Scotland
I had some weeds/miniature trees removed that had taken root in the shared gutter between mine and my neighbour's property... it doesn't take long!
A Vine Grew Around This Beer Bottle Left Out Overnight After A Party
This Car Has Grass Growing Through The Hood
There's A Plant Growing Inside The McDonald's Drive Through Order Screen
Pool Being Swallowed By Ivy Inside The Abandoned Days Inn Hotel In PA
Abandoned Water Park In Florida
Think we'll be seeing more abandoned amusement facilities as a result of the COVID-19 as travel/leisure businesses go bust.
The Way This Weed Grew In The Past 2 Years. Walked By It Every Morning Since It Was A Baby Weed. This Goes To Show You, The Power Of Nature In A Small Sense
Then we should clear the paths for these arboreal giants whose ancestors were there before the sidewalks.
Weeds Were Growing Out Of My Dad's Car
I Found A Road Being Reclaimed By Nature
A Fascinating Look At How This Tree Grew Around An Old Fire Hydrant
Photo I Took Of The Water Slides
Abandoned President Heads
Something Started Growing Under Our Wall
Abandoned Drive-In Theatre
I went to a Drive-In a few times as a teenager... Home video killed them and small independent cinemas. Now with the effect of COVID-19, even large cinema conglomerates are at risk of closure.
Invasive Plant Growing Up Through My Driveway
Japanese knot weed? hat stuff tanks property values cause it is almost impossible to kill and destroys paving and foundations
This Tree That Grew Through A Fence
Abandoned Polar Bear Enclosure. Vancouver, BC
Good. Polar bears and all other wild animals should be left in the wild—-left alone there. Any that are rescued and can’t be released back should live in sanctuaries specifically designed for them to live as wild as possible, yet still be kept safe, secure, well cared for, appreciated, protected, and most of all loved.
Abandoned Ford Bronco In The Woods
Abandoned Machinery, Romania
At the rate things are being built around here, this might as well be a normal construction
Plants Growing On My Old Chair
And than there are people, planting expensive plants, mulching, composting, weeding, watering and the plant dies.
This Abandoned Shoe I Found Deep In The Forest
There Is A Chair Near My Local Train Station Which Is So Old That There Is Moss Growing On It
Wholesome post. Sigh......now I want to travel everywhere to see these with my own eyes !
Me too! (as long as i dont have to go into that creepy tricell hospital.
Load More Replies...Best evidence that climate change isn't going to kill the planet. It might kill us, but the planet will survive
A lot of these could have been stills from "Life After People."
Load More Replies...Wow..... these abandoned places are stunning!!!! I really badly want to go explore them with someone.
How do people find these places? I never find cool abandoned places.
So many hilarious comments. Yes, nature - vegetation tries to survive - that's one thing deserving admiration. But try to imagine if nature was left untouched, free from any kinds of man made debris, or any kinds of imaginable and unimaginable wrecked objects; NO any once beautiful architectural creation laying in ruins - I don't mean the remains of millennia old structures but relatively recent buildings - I love architecture, seeing it dilapidated is disheartening to me. Now imagine, if you can, all the junk was gone, the abandoned buildings were either demolished, reused if possible, or renovated. What if human species stop laying waste in nature, reclaimed the cities instead, stop urban sprawl and devastation? Wouldn't that be really something worth admiring??? The earth would undoubtedly love it too.
These are great all the way to the end (over 100 of them). I find it frustrating that, had I looked at this list in 12 hours time, I'd only get to see the top 35 or something
You can always go to the 35th (or something) and click on the text that says something like "There were originally xx". That will open the complete list.
Load More Replies...This minds me of “The World Without Us”, a book that show how the earth would restore and reclaim what we damaged.
Maybe beautiful, but it makes me sad these buildings, cars, ships, PIANOS etc were not properly demolished and disposed of. Seriously, that's harming for the planet.
Vegetation, trees in particular, are such pure positive energy. You can see in each picture that no matter what damages, sickness or accidents they have had to face, they do not give up. They only look for the positive and adapt to anything. Humans can learn something from them.
Is it just me or do you get frustrated that Bored Panda posts TOO MANY PICTURES in most of their posts??? Winds up being a BIG TIME WASTER. I really do enjoy the posts but I wish they could just put up the top 20
Wholesome post. Sigh......now I want to travel everywhere to see these with my own eyes !
Me too! (as long as i dont have to go into that creepy tricell hospital.
Load More Replies...Best evidence that climate change isn't going to kill the planet. It might kill us, but the planet will survive
A lot of these could have been stills from "Life After People."
Load More Replies...Wow..... these abandoned places are stunning!!!! I really badly want to go explore them with someone.
How do people find these places? I never find cool abandoned places.
So many hilarious comments. Yes, nature - vegetation tries to survive - that's one thing deserving admiration. But try to imagine if nature was left untouched, free from any kinds of man made debris, or any kinds of imaginable and unimaginable wrecked objects; NO any once beautiful architectural creation laying in ruins - I don't mean the remains of millennia old structures but relatively recent buildings - I love architecture, seeing it dilapidated is disheartening to me. Now imagine, if you can, all the junk was gone, the abandoned buildings were either demolished, reused if possible, or renovated. What if human species stop laying waste in nature, reclaimed the cities instead, stop urban sprawl and devastation? Wouldn't that be really something worth admiring??? The earth would undoubtedly love it too.
These are great all the way to the end (over 100 of them). I find it frustrating that, had I looked at this list in 12 hours time, I'd only get to see the top 35 or something
You can always go to the 35th (or something) and click on the text that says something like "There were originally xx". That will open the complete list.
Load More Replies...This minds me of “The World Without Us”, a book that show how the earth would restore and reclaim what we damaged.
Maybe beautiful, but it makes me sad these buildings, cars, ships, PIANOS etc were not properly demolished and disposed of. Seriously, that's harming for the planet.
Vegetation, trees in particular, are such pure positive energy. You can see in each picture that no matter what damages, sickness or accidents they have had to face, they do not give up. They only look for the positive and adapt to anything. Humans can learn something from them.
Is it just me or do you get frustrated that Bored Panda posts TOO MANY PICTURES in most of their posts??? Winds up being a BIG TIME WASTER. I really do enjoy the posts but I wish they could just put up the top 20