A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed or ended for any reason. The town may have also declined because of natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, prolonged droughts, extreme heat or extreme cold, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, pollution, or nuclear and radiation-related accidents and incidents. The term can sometimes refer to cities, towns, and neighborhoods that, though still populated, are significantly less so than in past years; for example, those affected by high levels of unemployment and dereliction.
Ward is a home rule municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 128 at the 2020 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of gold at nearby Gold Hill. Once one of the richest towns in the state during the Colorado Gold Rush, it is located on a mountainside at the top of Left Hand Canyon, near the Peak to Peak Highway northwest of Boulder at an elevation of 9,450 feet (2,880 m) above sea level.
Shaniko is a city located in Wasco County, Oregon, United States, on U.S. Route 97 and about 8 miles (13 km) north of Antelope. The population was 30 at the 2020 census.
Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park.
Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community in the western Mojave Desert of Southern California, located at the foot of the Newberry Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Newberry Spring is a spring that in the 19th century supplied water to the local Santa Fe Railway and originally was a camping place. The population at the 2000 census was 2,895.
Greenwater was an unincorporated community near Death Valley located in the eastern side of the Inyo County, California. It is now a deserted ghost town.
Caribou is an extinct silver mining town located near Nederland in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. It was named after the Caribou silver mine nearby. The Caribou post office operated from January 31, 1871, until March 31, 1917. The Caribou Ranch recording studio was located several miles away, on the road from Nederland up to Caribou.
Nevadaville was a gold-mining town in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. It was also known in the 1860s and 1870s as Nevada City. The post office at Nevadaville was called the Bald Mountain post office, to avoid confusion with other Nevadas and Nevadavilles. The community is now largely a ghost town, although not completely deserted.
Ragtown was a mining town, now a ghost town, in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California, United States. John Sutter found gold in the Bagdad-Chase area in about 1898.
Bodie is a ghost town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States.
Auburn was an unincorporated community in rural Baker County, Oregon, United States, now considered a ghost town. Auburn lies off Oregon Route 7 southwest of Baker City and east of McEwen on the edge of the Blue Mountains.
Tarryall is a ghost town in northwest Park County, Colorado, United States. It is on upper Tarryall Creek northwest of Como, Colorado. It was once the county seat of Park County, but is now completely deserted.
Victor is a ghost town in Castle Valley in northern Emery County, Utah, United States.
Ruby is an American ghost town in Okanogan County, Washington State.
Cedarville is a ghost town in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The town is located in the deer trail district of southern Stevens County. Cedarville was also called Cedar Canyon. The town was founded in the 1890s following the discovery of silver in the area. By 1897 the town had a hotel owned by the Smiths, Diamond's general store, a livery stable, a log school house, and no less than 4 saloons. By the time the population reached 300, Cedar Canyon became known as Cedarville. For 18 years Cedarville was a mining town. By 1911 the silver had become depleted and Cedarville became deserted.
Sheridan, originally called Golden City, was an early mining camp in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It was the first county seat of Pennington County, from 1877 to 1878. It is now submerged under Sheridan Lake.
Vulture City is a ghost town situated at the site of the defunct Vulture Mine in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
Hedges, later renamed Tumco, is a locale, a ghost town, site of a former mining town, in Imperial County, California. It lies at an elevation of 617 feet / 188 meters along the Tumco Wash in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains. Nearby is the Hedges Cemetery at an elevation of 643 feet, at 32°53′04″N114°49′52″W.
Vulcan is a ghost town in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, approximately 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the City of Gunnison. Vulcan was a mining camp established along Camp Creek in 1894 and was deserted within thirty years.
