America's abandoned and eerie Gold Rush towns
Gold Rush towns the time forgot
When gold was discovered in California in the 1850s, a frenzy of adventurers headed west seeking their fortunes. Soon thousands of mining towns had popped up all over the West as precious metals were discovered. But the bounty soon ran out and the towns surrounding the mines were fast abandoned. Today, some of these little pockets of history survive largely unscathed, preserving a long-forgotten way of life.
© Maks Ershov/Shutterstock