The Atlas of Drowned Towns

I wasn’t able to find Atlantis on the Atlas of Drowned Towns. That’s probably because it only maps ‘communities that were displaced or disappeared to make way for ... reservoirs ... (and) large dams’ since 1860.

The map does, however, show the location of St. Thomas, Nevada, which was submerged under 60 feet of water in the 1930s during the construction of the Hoover Dam.  It also reveals the locations of hundreds of other towns, villages, homesteads, and Tribal homelands lost to dam construction across the United States and around the world.

The Atlas of Drowned Towns is a digital public history project that asks a deceptively simple question: What was there before the water came? In answering it, the project uncovers the deeply human costs of twentieth-century river development. As massive dams reshaped landscapes for hydroelectric power, irrigation, and flood control, entire communities were erased from maps - and often, from memory.

The project started with a focus on the Pacific Northwest, but it is expanding to include drowned towns across North America and beyond. Its interactive map and growing archive allow users to explore these sites through photographs, historical documents, personal stories, and even aerial imagery that shows what was lost.

If you or someone you know has a connection to a drowned place, the project wants to hear from you. The Share Your Story feature allows users to contribute memories, photos, artifacts, and insights, helping to fill gaps in the historical record and ensure these submerged stories are not forgotten.

Via: weeklyOSM