Has the radioactive contamination of the Chernobyl region caused any interesting mutations? I recall reading that some of the trees in the area show really weird growth patterns…how about the animals? As was pointed out, the fact that there are no humans around means that the area is a good one for foxes and wolves…any two-headed foxes seen?
Another question: it appears that most of the windows of the buildings are gone-was the glass taken by scavengers, or did the kids of Chernobyl have a big rock-throwing festival as they left the area? 
A decade or two of storms will toss debris around, & smash out all the windows you like. No need for hooligans.
I won’t post links to all the sites, because there are so many. Just Google “Centralia, Pennsylvania.”
Have a look at http://www.xydexx.com/modernruins/centralia.htm . The sight of smoke rising through the cracks of a four lane, dial carriageway highway are haunting.
I love the picture of the voting house and the story about how it was boring to vote when there was only 1 candidate from 1 party so voter turnout was low until the government decided to give free drinks to anyone who would vote.
I’m all for it. And a holiday the next day to sleep it off.
These are some really interesting links. I’m saving them all for later reading.
Good thing I’ve got lots of down time at work.
It’s certainly caused genetic mutations in humans - but most of these result either in miscarriage, or in no noticable deformity. Two-headed foxes are pretty much the stuff of science fiction. Chernobyl raised mutations 600% | Environment | The Guardian
I know the guy who runs that site. Didn’t even know he had that page there, guess I should visit more often.
Coldy, I posted the link to the Chernobyl site on a machinist’s message board I frequent, got a number of responses, but this is the one that I think you’ll find the most interesting.
I’d call that a small victory in the war against ignorance.
That’s friggin’ cool, Tuckerfan. And the fight goes on.
I found another Chernobyl site! This one a little more fluent in terms of its English. But mostly, the pictures will knock your socks off. If you have broadband, I recommend downloading the big zip-file atop the page. 20 MB’s, but worth it.
So… desolate. Those giant helicopters look like dead dinosaurs or something. Fantastic and heartbreaking, simultaneously.
I must say, I looked at your first link Coldfire and was immediately transported back to the day I heard the news of Chernobyl. I was in High School and was very privy to the happenings in Russia at the time of the event. I have family in Poland and they were actually one of the first people we heard from.
As per the giant helicopter’s…I thought about those massive blades chopping through the air over the plant…spreading radiation further and further. The the picture of the first fire truck on scene and the narrator there showing the meter readings…saying she did not want to linger near the truck.
The animals - her portrayal of the wolves and bears and deer all living in old abandoned homes, seemingly getting along.
But it was her photo’s of the Magic wood, which glows red that got to me. I put that picture in Photoshop and tweaked it a little and you can see the 'aura" effect behind the trees in the atmosphere just above them…really eery. Thanks for the link…It had a lasting effect on me, and as per Tucker’s post…I plan to show this to my students. For sure.
From the site;
*"Yep, it was very interesting It’s was down for about a month though. It was one of those pretty humorous things that made it around the Internet like wildfire in a couple days I think I got it from three or four different mailing lists in one day at one point
It’s funny that it’s “crossed over” to other mediums and interests than motorcyling websites
… BTW her name is Elena, and she’s currently updating the site with more photos, etc…
Although, she really wants to share more interesting photos of riding all around the area, not just Chernobyl.
Apparently she got quite slash-dotted by, in her her words, "…all the geeky guys wanting to chat with a girl that rides a big bike "
…and she got 10’s of thousands of hits on the page, and inundated with email. She appreciated it, but I guess it got a bit tiresome to just be asked questions about Chernobyl, and ASL
She joined Sport-Touring.net and has been posting there."*
She`d be smart to publish a coffee-table book…
Looks like about 1.5 million hits on her site so far.
Coldie, I’ve not been able to get these pictures out of my head since you first posted the link. To be honest, they so perfectly depict the tragedy and her story is so “out there” that at first I thought it can’t be real, that she’s gotta be a fictional character made up by a professional. I mean come on, “Biker Babe Blows Thru Chernobyl and Shares Compelling Dialogue and Pics With World… In English!”???
But she’s real. Amazing.
I think I’m in love!
Where the hell did she get a ZX-11? I used one of these weapons to do a little high-speed touring around southern Nevada/Utah. Simply incredible. I “accidentally” hit 100mph on an on-ramp, in only second gear! I was eye-balling the mirror and just whacked the throttle and the next thing you know, your doing the ton! I had more adventures with it, but they were no “accidents”! 
Maybe I should make a website about all the ghost-towns I prowl around. Wouldn’t be as popular. I’m not as cute as she is.
“There Will Come Soft Rains”
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
Sara Teasdale.
That Chernobyl site makes me want to cry.
…I read that site while listening to Donie Darko’s Mad World…
Haunting combination…
You say you like modern ruins, uh?
I think the text is a bit confusing. I found some more info:
Here are a few more recent pics of the forest.
Here you can see aerial pictures. I’m not sure the colours are “true” though.
I believe that radiation causing things to glow is largely a myth.
Erm… I think those are jpeg artifacts.
The ruins of Reichsautobahnenin Poland.
Here’s an odd one from the California desert.
Here’s another picture of the defunct Salton Bay Yacht Club.
I’m sorry there’s not really a single, good site, but the whole Salton Sea story is one of the stranger semi-ghosttown stories you’ll encounter. The above links give relatively recent photos of a long-abandoned motel and yacht club. The latter, which was built around 1960, was at one time a beautiful two-story structure that was open to the public, and boasting a restaurant and cocktail lounge with “a beautiful view of the Sea!”. In those years there was a definite effort to attract the yachting, golfing, and country-club set to the Salton Sea. Since then it has declined. People still go there to fish, but there’s not much in the way of accommodations beyond campsites and trailer slabs.
I think it’s really eerie that in 1962, pleasantly tired fishing enthusiasts could shower and change in their motel rooms at the end of the day, and then mosey on over to the Yacht Club and have drinks and a restaurant meal, and today there’s just ruins. Back then, a number of local music and film celebrities including the Beach Boys and the Marx Brothers kept boats here.
For a perspective on what used to be, check out this archival website, contents dated 1963, see here
Finally, I can’t resist linking to this site, offering some pictures of the abandoned North Shore Motel. It should be noted, though, that someone actually bought the place, not long ago, so things may be looking better.