Though the “ghost town” is often associated with the American West, there are abandoned places all over the world.

SOME TOWNS GROW QUICKLY from the ground up, surging in population. People arrive to work in the mines or factories and build their lives on the frontier. Some towns last, but not these.

The photos below capture the way things look after people leave. Accompanying each image is a description of place — places that for all intents and purposes no longer exist.