Villa Epecuén

Villa Epecuén
tourist village

2009 photo
Coordinates: 37°7′51″S 62°48′27″W / 37.13083°S 62.80750°W / -37.13083; -62.80750Coordinates: 37°7′51″S 62°48′27″W / 37.13083°S 62.80750°W / -37.13083; -62.80750
Country  Argentina
Province Buenos Aires
Partido Adolfo Alsina
Founded 1920
Elevation 97 m (318 ft)
Population (since 2009)[1]
 • Total 1

Villa Epecuén was a tourist village in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It flooded in 1985 and was abandoned. Its ruins are on the eastern shore of the Laguna Epecuén, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city of Carhué.

Developed in the early 1920s, Epecuén was accessible from Buenos Aires by train. The Sarmiento Railway line served the Villa Epecuén station, while the Midland Railway and the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway carried passengers to nearby Carhué station.[2]

Tourism was well developed in Epecuén, as vacationers from Buenos Aires would seek the therapeutic salty waters of Lago Epecuén. At its height, Villa Epecuén could accommodate at least 5,000 visitors.[3]

On 6 November 1985 a seiche caused by a rare weather pattern broke first a nearby dam, then the dyke protecting the village; the water rose progressively, reaching a peak of 10 metres (33 ft). The village became uninhabitable, and was never rebuilt.

At the time there were up to 280 businesses in Epecuén, including lodges, guesthouses, hotels, and businesses that 25,000 tourists visited between November and March, from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The town reached a population of 1,500 inhabitants at its peak. The town now has a sole resident, Pablo Novak, born in 1930, who returned to his home in 2009 when the waters receded after covering the town for 25 years.[1]

Pablo's Villa, a 2013 documentary, chronicles the life of the town and of Pablo Novak.[4][5]

The town also featured in an eponymous film featuring the street trials cyclist Danny MacAskill released by Red Bull Media House on 27 May 2014.[6]

Images

See also

es:Villa Epecuén, more detailed Spanish-language article

References

  1. 1 2 "The Ruins of Villa Epecuen". Atlantic. June 2011.
  2. ↑ Lauren Davis (Dec 23, 2012). "This Argentinian tourist village sat underwater for 25 years". io9.
  3. ↑ Giambartolomei, Mauricio (22 March 2013). "Fotoreportaje: el cementerio olvidado del lago Epecuén". La Nacion. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Sydney Film Festival - Filmmaker Q&A: Matthew Salleh, Pablo's Villa". Sff.org.au. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  5. ↑ Urtext Films (2014-03-10). "Pablo's Villa on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  6. ↑ Red Bull Media House (2014-05-27). "Danny Macaskill's Epucuén". Retrieved 2014-05-28.
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