Lost village not seen since 1992 suddenly a tourist hotspot
Extreme drought has caused the waters of a vast reservoir to recede and reveal a lost village that hasn't been seen in decades, but now is drawing flocks of curious people.
By
Zachary Rosenthal, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 14, 2022 2:11 PM EDT
|
Updated Feb 15, 2022 11:37 AM EDT
Like magic, the ancient village of Aceredo has revealed itself once again. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
After being flooded in 1992 to birth a new reservoir, the ancient Spanish village of Aceredo has emerged from the Limia River and has been given new life as a tourist attraction, Reuters reported.
The city, which sat near the Spanish-Portuguese border, was swallowed up after the Alto Lindoso reservoir and dam were constructed on the Limia River. However, years of drought have caused the city to emerge from its watery grave.
Starting in 2017, the village's buildings began to jut out of the water during the hot and dry summer season. Now, even in the dead of winter, much of the village is accessible to tourists and historians alike.
The formerly lively village looks a bit like a war zone, with collapsed roofs, scattered debris and eroded buildings caked with mud.
Still, for a village that had been totally submerged for more than 20 years, it looks largely intact.
Tourists can make out where doors and windows used to be as they walk on the village's former roads and tour some of the city's stone walls, which have survived years underwater.
Rafael Monlina, 33, holds his four-month-old son Marcos as they visit the old village of Aceredo, submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, emerged now due to drought at the Lindoso reservoir, in northwestern Spain, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
From the air, observers can admire the city's layout, with buildings scaffolding up the walls of the largely dry reservoir.
"It's as if I'm watching a movie. I have a feeling of sadness," 65-year-old Maximino Perez Romero told Reuters. "My feeling is that this is what will happen over the years due to drought and all that, with climate change."
According to the Reuters report, the Alto Lindoso reservoir is filled to just 15% of its capacity, which is bad news for locals who depend on the reservoir for drinking water. Spain’s reservoirs are currently at just 44% of their capacity, significantly lower than the 10-year average of 61%.
Parts of the old village of Aceredo, submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, are photographed emerged due to drought at the Lindoso reservoir, in northwestern Spain, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. Large sections of Spain are experiencing extreme or prolonged drought, with rainfall this winter at only one-third of the average in recent years. The situation is similar in neighboring Portugal, where 45% of the country is now enduring “severe” or “extreme” drought. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
"It’s part of the context of climate change,” Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Pires told The Associated Press. According to the AP, scientists have cautioned that precipitation for Spain and neighboring Portugal will become increasingly scarce over time. In Portugal, for instance, scientists have warned that by the year 2100, there could be a drop in average annual rainfall by as much as 20% to 40%.
The village is the latest in a string of lost relics from the past that have re-emerged in recent years due to severe drought conditions, not only in Europe but in the United States. In July 2021, the 12th-century Italian village Fabbriche di Careggine in the Lucca province of Tuscany breached the surface of Lake Vagli. At that point, it was the first time in more than 25 years that anyone had seen the medieval village.
Last spring, as severe drought tightened its grip in the western U.S., a crashed airplane that had been missing since 1986 was discovered as water levels in California's Folsom Lake plummeted and a sonar operator noticed "something that wasn't normal."
Similarly, a family fishing trip to a popular tourist spot in Utah, also suffering from extreme drought, resulted in an extraordinary discovery after receding waters exposed an old shipwreck.
Report a Typo
News / Climate
Lost village not seen since 1992 suddenly a tourist hotspot
Extreme drought has caused the waters of a vast reservoir to recede and reveal a lost village that hasn't been seen in decades, but now is drawing flocks of curious people.
By Zachary Rosenthal, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Feb 14, 2022 2:11 PM EDT | Updated Feb 15, 2022 11:37 AM EDT
Like magic, the ancient village of Aceredo has revealed itself once again. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
After being flooded in 1992 to birth a new reservoir, the ancient Spanish village of Aceredo has emerged from the Limia River and has been given new life as a tourist attraction, Reuters reported.
The city, which sat near the Spanish-Portuguese border, was swallowed up after the Alto Lindoso reservoir and dam were constructed on the Limia River. However, years of drought have caused the city to emerge from its watery grave.
Starting in 2017, the village's buildings began to jut out of the water during the hot and dry summer season. Now, even in the dead of winter, much of the village is accessible to tourists and historians alike.
The formerly lively village looks a bit like a war zone, with collapsed roofs, scattered debris and eroded buildings caked with mud.
Still, for a village that had been totally submerged for more than 20 years, it looks largely intact.
Tourists can make out where doors and windows used to be as they walk on the village's former roads and tour some of the city's stone walls, which have survived years underwater.
Rafael Monlina, 33, holds his four-month-old son Marcos as they visit the old village of Aceredo, submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, emerged now due to drought at the Lindoso reservoir, in northwestern Spain, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
From the air, observers can admire the city's layout, with buildings scaffolding up the walls of the largely dry reservoir.
"It's as if I'm watching a movie. I have a feeling of sadness," 65-year-old Maximino Perez Romero told Reuters. "My feeling is that this is what will happen over the years due to drought and all that, with climate change."
According to the Reuters report, the Alto Lindoso reservoir is filled to just 15% of its capacity, which is bad news for locals who depend on the reservoir for drinking water. Spain’s reservoirs are currently at just 44% of their capacity, significantly lower than the 10-year average of 61%.
Parts of the old village of Aceredo, submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, are photographed emerged due to drought at the Lindoso reservoir, in northwestern Spain, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. Large sections of Spain are experiencing extreme or prolonged drought, with rainfall this winter at only one-third of the average in recent years. The situation is similar in neighboring Portugal, where 45% of the country is now enduring “severe” or “extreme” drought. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
"It’s part of the context of climate change,” Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Pires told The Associated Press. According to the AP, scientists have cautioned that precipitation for Spain and neighboring Portugal will become increasingly scarce over time. In Portugal, for instance, scientists have warned that by the year 2100, there could be a drop in average annual rainfall by as much as 20% to 40%.
The village is the latest in a string of lost relics from the past that have re-emerged in recent years due to severe drought conditions, not only in Europe but in the United States. In July 2021, the 12th-century Italian village Fabbriche di Careggine in the Lucca province of Tuscany breached the surface of Lake Vagli. At that point, it was the first time in more than 25 years that anyone had seen the medieval village.
Last spring, as severe drought tightened its grip in the western U.S., a crashed airplane that had been missing since 1986 was discovered as water levels in California's Folsom Lake plummeted and a sonar operator noticed "something that wasn't normal."
Similarly, a family fishing trip to a popular tourist spot in Utah, also suffering from extreme drought, resulted in an extraordinary discovery after receding waters exposed an old shipwreck.
More to see: