mmm, theres a disused road just up the road from me in North London that got bypassed about 7-8 years ago (i can find out) and thats full of cracks where vegetation is growing up through the tarmac. metal fencing there has rusted up, twisted away and fallen, and all other parts are overgrown. i walk through there on my way back from the supermarket. its like theres nbobody else on earth around, you cant even hardly hear the traffic.
theres only constantly updated graffiti under the motorway bridge there to remind you. pigeons seem to be doing a good job of destroying that as well.
I would hold with what Eburacum said.
Migh money is on the high arctic region. Stuff does not deteriorate much in the cold. remember the Franklin expedition? Preservation of remnants including tin cans in garbage dumps from that event over 150 years ago are remarkably well preserved.
Mount Rushmore will still be recognisable, I imagine.
Maybe the huge lock systems on the Great Lakes?
Missile silos?! Surely you don’t actually believe that these legends of “Spears of Fire” that were thrown hundreds of miles by the ancient giants have any basis in truth!
No, these are obviously underground temples dedicated to the worship of a fertility god. We can see this in the plainly phallic symbols drawn on the walls.
The fact that these temples were inevitably built in dry areas suggests that this god had some connection with bringing the annual rains. I really don’t think we need to bring in ancient myths as an explanation.
Concrete, while not indestructible, is more durable than you think. The Coliseum in Rome is made largely of brick-faced concrete, and it is nearly 2,000 years old. Granted, it not is pristine condition, but if the population were removed, there would not be any damage from vandals stripping off building materials over the ages.
Actually, that’s a good question. I would not want to be downriver when any of the dams go.
Maybe 800 freeze-thaw cycles could indeed destroy a missile silo. But they were designed to withstand nuclear blasts and extended human habitation in the event of fallout, so I think they’ll survive 800 years of being ignored.
You might find this interesting. Photos from Pripyat, the city that was abandoned when Chernobyl melted down. After only ten years its well on its way to returning to wilderness … .
What about skyscrapers? I doubt the new glass boxes would last very long, but the Chrysler and Empire State buildings (and others of that era) were built to be there forever. That was before the architects started thinking that they might have to take them down someday.
And on a related note, how well do you think the stainless steel ornamentation on the Chrysler Bldg would hold up? (for a story of my own)
And New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mounta… oh, no, wait…
Fie! on your southwest elitism!
This Myster Tower in central Ohio has been standing unfinished for over 30 years (of all 4 seasons!) and the contractor swears it will last at least 400 more as is.
And you know contractors never lie.
Thanks, this is exactly what I was looking for!
This is fairly obvious, now that you’ve pointed it out. No, I’m not looking for a place for a new civilization, rather a place where it is believable that remains of our current civilization would remain after 800 years. I expect that in most parts of the North American continent that most obvious traces of our civilization would be erased within 400 years without human intervention; obvious exceptions include roadway cuts, strip mines, the Hoover Dam, and other really big structures. This is cool; every civilization needs some reminders of the civilizations that came before, such as the Pyramids in Egypt or those huge statues next to the river in LOTR.
But the same thing that preserved traces of the Egyptian civilization will also help preserve traces of our civilization when we are gone: nobody goes into the desert if they can help it. The pueblos in Arizona have lasted well over 800 years without human intervention; I should have thought of this myself.
Thanks
Similarly, nobody digs in marginal farmland if they can help it. Especially if it’s isolated from the natural routes of travel (assume that people will be using the old highway cuts for a long time to come, however they decide to travel) and lacks any redeeming features (water, for example). Thus, I think the missile silos will last for a good, long time.
The Dakotas and eastern Montana aren’t very conducive to the kinds of civilizations that dig massive holes in the ground. The original natives were Plains Indians, nomads who followed the bison herds. Farming wasn’t done, because the land can’t support anything beyond simple grasses without major irrigation and fertilization. Following the game is a natural reaction to largely unappealing land.
Plus, silos don’t advertise themselves. Once the dust and dirt has covered over the closed door and the buildings have weathered away, you’d need something along the lines of an aerial survey to even know something was there (disturbed earth looks different from its surroundings for a good while). Someone digging a foundation right over a silo door would hit cement pretty quickly, but as I said, that’s unlikely for numerous reasons.
Finally, I think it’s fairly likely that in eight centuries, eastern Montana and the Dakotas could become deserts. We’ve been slowly desertifying for the past five-six years with substandard precipitation, and without humans to maintain irrigation projects, the process will run its course to, I think, its ultimate end.
While it’s true that things are generally well preserved in arctic climes, it’s questionable how cold the continent will remain for the next 800 years. With global warming, Yellowknife could be temperate by then.
I seriously doubt if the Hoover Dam will survive 800 years with constant maintenance, let alone if left to deteriorate. The stress it endures is almost beyond comprehension. That being said, when it does finally burst, there will probably be traces left behind.
Hoover Danm is going to erode. Without humans to operate the floodgates, eventually water is going ot go over the top, and I’m thinking it won’t take much dirt- and debris-laden water to erode a big channel in it.
An old oil well would be pretty mysterious to future generations. The well bore would be long collapsed, but there would be plenty of evidence.
Underground strucutures would still be around. Cheyenne Mountain should be structurally intact. Yucca Mountain is supposed to be safe for 10,000 years.
Depending on how you define “our” civilization, the dwellings of the Pueblo Indians should still be going strong.
Not to mention how much longer all of that masonry will last through 800 years free of petro-fuel exhaust-induced acid rain.
Anaxagoras, are you going to acknowledge all of us in your SF novel?
