We’re looking at regions around the world that, for various reasons, pose an extreme challenge to human habitation. For the record, some of these places are inhabited, but those living there do so with great difficulty or risk.
10 In Yada Camera Grungy Brazil – Map of In Yada Camera Grungy Brazil
The world’s deadliest island, according to Smithsonian magazine, this 110 acre piece of land located off the coast of Brazil, is equal parts fascinating and unwelcoming. Completely devoid of human residents. Appears to be a picturesque ocean gem, but to set foot there is to risk life and limb. You see it’s known colloquially as Snake Island and it’s more than just a name. This is an island ruled by snakes at an estimated average of 1 snake per 3.3 square feet. It is very literally covered in the creatures, as if that’s not scary enough. Most of the snakes are golden lancehead Vipers, which are among the world’s deadliest snakes.
9 Lake, Nyos, Cameroon – Map of Lake, Nyos, Cameroon
This Crater Lake. It looks picturesque, but appearances can be deceiving. Lake Nyos is an exploding lake and that is as terrifying as it sounds. One of only three known such lakes in the world. Lake Neo sits atop a pocket of magma, which saturates the water with carbon dioxide. In 1986, Lake Neo suddenly released a 100,000 to 300,000 ton cloud of CO2, which quickly displaced the air in a 16 mile area, suffocating nearly 17150 people. A gassing system has since been put in place and locals have returned, but many fear that the carbon dioxide coupled with a weakening of the lake’s retaining wall could spell future disaster.
8 Whitnum – Map of Whitnum
Once a prosperous mining town, Whitnum is now a reminder of past mistakes. Humankind has been mining asbestos for millennia, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that we started using it in so many daily applications. Sure it works great for insulation, fire resistance. And more, but it’s also known to cause various fatal illnesses. Whitnum was shut down in 1966, but the blue asbestos continues to blow in the wind, a persistent health threat. Locals were encouraged to move away from the area despite the complete lack of government services and Wittenoom having lost its status as a town in 2007. Three inhabitants remain. As of 2018,
7 Centralia Pa American History
is intimately linked with mining nowadays. The country is littered with ghost towns that sprung up around a mine, only to die out when whatever resource dried up. Few such ghost towns are as mysterious, surreal, or inhospitable as Centralia. After over 100 years of mining in the area, most mines closed in the 1960s. In 1962, a strip mine intended for use as a dump, caught fire. It soon spread across the mines under Centralia. It’s been burning ever since, and based on the best efforts of experts, could very well burn for the next 200. In 50 years today, sinkholes are bound and smoke rises from the ground. In this toxic town.
6 Death Valley, Ca – Map of Death Valley, Ca
This area of California desert makes for a fascinating visit. We just wouldn’t recommend trying to put down roots there, though. The landscape is indeed captivating. The summer heat there is more than oppressive, as its name suggests, it’s downright deadly. Death Valley is among the hottest places on Earth, though it can safely be visited by modern travelers. Prospectors in the mid 19th century had a very different relationship with the valley. It earned its name after 13 pioneers lost their lives to the insufferable heat. Here’s the thing though. During winter, the overnight temperature also drops quite low, making it a place of dangerous extremes.
5 The Nevada National Security Site Nevada
Often cited as the most uninhabitable place in America. The NNSS was previously the Nevada Test site, so named because it’s where nuclear devices were tested between 1951 and 1992. It served as the site of 1021 nuclear tests and in later decades played host to some 536 anti nuclear protests. Most of the nuclear detonations, 921 of them, to be exact, were made to occur underground in order to contain the fallout, but the enduring environmental impact is still staggering. The water is extremely contaminated, while the presence of plutonium and uranium are thought to make the area unfit for habitation. For 10s of thousands of years to come.
4 The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Ukraine
This destination requires little introduction. The site of the single worst nuclear power plant disaster in human history. Chernobyl is now contained in a restricted access area known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, also known as the 30 Kilometer Zone. The restricted area today is actually much larger, covering roughly 1000 square miles within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Access is limited, though Chernobyl has been deemed safe enough to allow guided tours to certain areas. The environment is considered unsafe for habitation, for roughly the next 20,000 years. Of course, Chernobyl isn’t one of a kind. Fukushima has a similar exclusion zone to its name.
3 The Atacama Desert Chile
It’s tough to say how long it will be until humans land on Mars, but for those who simply can’t wait, the Atacama Desert makes for a solid stand in. Just ask film makers or NASA. This otherworldly environment is unlike anything you’ve seen before, and is a must visit for photographers with a passion for unique landscapes. That which makes it so unique, however, is what also makes it a difficult place to live. It’s one of the driest places on Earth. True, it has been inhabited by various groups for roughly 10,000 years, but it’s not an easy life.
2 Antarctica – Map of Antarctica
The only place on Earth drier than the Atacama Desert, the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. These valleys are mostly snowless, but it’s not because of a warm microclimate or something of the sort, no, the conditions are such that there literally isn’t enough humidity for much snow or ice to form. The McMurdo Dry Valleys make up one of the most extreme deserts in the world, but that’s just a taste of Antarctica’s challenge. Is a continent situated at the southern pole of the planet we call home. Antarctica is 5,400,000 square miles of unforgiving terrain and largely inhospitable environments. Cold, dry and windy. Antarctica is only for the very hardiest of species
1 The Danakil Desert Ethiopia
Called by some the cruelest place on Earth. Gonna Kill Desert is both fascinating and kind of terrifying. It’s the closest thing you can find to a hostile alien environment here on our own planet. Like most deserts, it’s characterized by extreme temperatures and a lack of humidity, but what sets it apart is the presence of volcanoes. The earth cracks under the scorching heat of the sun in an otherworldly environment, hundreds of feet below sea level made all the more inhospitable due to the chaotic geological activity, the sulfuric Hot Springs make it hard to breathe, while the active volcanoes remind you that this is. As British explorer Wilfred Thesiger put it, quote a land of death.
