Al Madam, United Arab Emirates

A sand-buried village similar to Namibia’s Kolmanskop, Al Madam is located about 40 miles southeast of Dubai in a desert. Approximately two rows of houses and a mosque, all partially covered by the encroaching dunes, constitute the village, which is likely to have been built in the 1970s and abandoned soon afterward. It has the haunted qualities of all ghost towns, enhanced by the ochre sand sea that surrounds it.

Villa Epecuén, Argentina

The 1920s were a time when Villa Epecuén was a popular resort village. A salt lake adjacent to the city was rumored to have healing powers that Buenos Aires vacationers could soak in when they took the train into town. The villa could host 5,000 guests at its peak, but in 1985, a wave broke a dam, flooding the village with salt water. After being submerged by over 30 feet of water, the town was revealed in 2009 with bare trees and crumbling buildings covered in white salt.