An Argentinian town has re-emerged after being underwater for 25 years, The Associated Press reports.

In the 1920s Villa Epecuen, located in the farmlands 340 miles south of Buenos Aires, was established as a tourist village along the shore of Lago Epecuen.

The saltwater lake has 10 times more salt than the ocean — making the water buoyant — and tourists from Buenos Aires' large Jewish community flocked there to float in water that reminded them of the Dead Sea.

The town thrived for decades — its population topped 5,000 in the 1970s — before the lake overflowed its banks on Nov. 10, 1985, and flooded the town.

From the AP:

Then a particularly heavy rainstorm followed a series of wet winters, and the lake overflowed its banks on Nov. 10, 1985. Water burst through a retaining wall and spilled into the lakeside streets. People fled with what they could, and within days their homes were submerged under nearly 10 meters (33 feet) of corrosive saltwater.



The AP notes that one man, Pablo Novak, refused to leave and still lives on the edge of the town. (Where'd he get that newspaper?)

Now the water has mostly receded, creating a post-apocalyptic landscape, and the 82-year-old Novak welcomes people who visit to wander the wrecked streets.

Check out these amazing photos taken by the AP's Natacha Pisarenko:

Here's a closeup of that last one:



