Kolmanskop, Namib desert, Namibia

Kolmanskop is an abandoned German mining town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia. The town was founded in 1908 after a German railroad worker found a diamond laying on the ground, sparking a diamond rush.

Mining brought enormous wealth--for example, the first x-ray machine in the southern hemisphere. The small town thrived until after World War I when slumping sales and better diamond discoveries further south resulted in its decline. By 1954, the town was completely deserted.

The arid climate has preserved the structural integrity of most of the buildings, but many are missing windows, doors, roofs and walls. Strong and constant winds blow sand in and out of old homes, creating indoor dunes that shift over time, sometimes daily. A brief sandstorm wipes away footprints as if no one has been there for years.