Bastnäs, Sweden
Site of one of the earliest rare earth mineral discoveries; cradle of lanthanide extraction in Europe.
Envisat (ESA Satellite)
Europe’s largest Earth observation satellite; contact lost while still in orbit monitoring the planet.
Douglas Mine, Cobalt, Ontario
Cobalt and Silver Mine: A site of historic cobalt extraction in northern Canada.
Cambridge Analytica Cloud, London
Data Infrastructure (Shut Down): Digital infrastructure once used for psychographic profiling and political influence.
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (Old Computing Cluster)
Scientific Computing Infrastructure: Once used for plasma simulation in early fusion research.
Churchill Falls Fiber Relay Station, Labrador
Supported high-voltage communications across Newfoundland and Labrador.
South Atlantic Cable System (SACS Node 1)
Undersea Cable Landing Site: Connects Angola to Brazil via fiber-optic cable beneath the Atlantic.
Yukon Consolidated Gold Mines Powerhouse
Provided energy to gold dredges and early townships.
Channar Mine, Pilbara, Australia
Iron Ore Mine (partially closed): Operated jointly by Rio Tinto and China.
Maud Submarine Cable Station, Norway
Telegraph Cable Hub: Once linked Norway to Svalbard through icy Arctic waters.
Soudan Underground Mine, Minnesota
Iron Mine and Neutrino Detector — later repurposed for particle physics experiments.
Cambridge Ring (UK University Network)
Experimental Computer Network, predecessor to Ethernet at Cambridge University.
Glace Bay Transatlantic Cable Station, Nova Scotia
Telegraph Cable Terminal: Sent early transatlantic messages across to Ireland.
Chinguetti Satellite Earth Station, Mauritania
Satellite Relay Ground Station: Once connected rural Africa to global voice and data networks.
Rock Springs No. 4 Mine, Wyoming
Coal Mine: Fed early 20th-century rail and steel production in the American West.
Sierra Nevada Microwave Relay Station
Cold War Telecommunications: Part of AT&T's Long Lines — backbones of pre-internet communication.
Kennecott Bingham Canyon Conveyor System
Open-Pit Copper Mine Infrastructure: Once transported ore from one of the largest man-made holes on Earth.
Alouette-1 (Canada)
Ionospheric Research Satellite, Canada’s first satellite. Helped pioneer space science.
TransBay Tube Maintenance Station, California
BART Underwater Service Node: Provided access for underwater transit tube upkeep in the Bay Area.
Western Union Telex Service, USA
Teleprinter Network: Once a backbone of long-distance business communication, replaced by fax and email.
Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (Legacy Systems)
Cold War Data Infrastructure: Once operated 24/7 NORAD tracking via early supercomputers, now partially modernized.
SAGE Air Defense System, North America
Military Computing Network: Among the earliest real-time digital data systems, developed during the Cold War.
Luanshya Mine, Copperbelt, Zambia
Copper Mine, once one of Zambia’s most productive copper operations, shut due to market decline.
INESAP-1 (Germany)
A symbolic low-orbit satellite for disarmament and transparency efforts.
Giant Mine, Yellowknife, Canada
Gold Mine: Site of arsenic contamination and long-term environmental hazard management.
RAE Bawdsey Radar Station, UK
Radar and Early Warning Station: Home to the first operational radar system, key in WWII defense history.
Tatel Telescope, West Virginia
Radio Telescope: Conducted early SETI work, predecessor to the Green Bank Telescope.
INTELSAT IV F-4
Communications Satellite: Provided early international phone and television service, now derelict in orbit.
Project West Ford (USA)
Experimental Orbital Relay System: Filled orbit with copper needles to bounce radio signals — largely unsuccessful, still partially in orbit.
Nimbus-4 Satellite
Weather Satellite: Enabled atmospheric measurements, precursor to NOAA’s satellite system.
Mount Lyell Copper Mine, Tasmania
Copper Mine: One of Australia’s oldest continually operating mines until environmental disaster and closure.
Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico
Radio Telescope: Once the world’s largest, collapsed after cable failure and deferred maintenance.
Archer Wind Farm, Wyoming
Wind Farm: Supplied Wyoming’s grid with wind-generated electricity until replaced by newer infrastructure.
INTELSAT IV F-2
Communications Satellite: Delivered early transoceanic voice and data links, now derelict in orbit.
Domtar Paper Mill, Cornwall, Ontario
Paper Mill: One of Canada's longest-operating industrial paper mills, closed for economic reasons.
LORAN-C Navigation System
Long-Range Navigation Network: Once critical for marine and aerial navigation, decommissioned after GPS adoption.
Kolar Gold Fields, India
Gold Mine: Among the deepest and oldest gold mines globally, abandoned due to cost and flooding.
Concorde SST Network, Global
Supersonic Transport Infrastructure: Enabled commercial supersonic flight; grounded after safety and noise concerns.
Old SEACOM Cable Station, Kenya
Fiber Optic Landing Facility: Early subsea cable station serving East Africa, since replaced by upgraded systems.
Apache Point 3.5m Telescope, New Mexico
Astronomical Observatory (Retired): Used for deep-sky surveys before decommissioning in favor of robotic platforms.
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center
Coal-Biomass Power Plant: A rare hybrid facility using waste coal and biomass, shut down after rising costs.
Beech Forest Radio Tower, Victoria
Telecommunications Relay: Once used to bridge long-range calls across rural Australia.
Duga Radar Array, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Soviet Over-the-Horizon Radar: Known as the "Russian Woodpecker" for its repetitive shortwave pulses.
Telstar 1
First Active Communications Satellite, enabled the first live transatlantic television broadcasts.
LOC Gas Pipeline, Poland
Natural Gas Transmission Line: Once critical to Poland’s regional energy network, decommissioned after modernization.
VA/DoD CHCS Legacy Server, Illinois
Medical Data Infrastructure: Supported joint military/veterans' health records until replaced by Cerner platforms.
VLBA Pie Town Station, New Mexico
Interferometric Radio Astronomy Site: One of ten stations linking Earth-wide signals to simulate a giant telescope.
Amchitka Test Site, Alaska
Underground Nuclear Test Facility: Site of three large-yield tests now sealed and monitored for subsidence.
Owens Valley Solar Array, California
Solar Physics Observatory: Used for long-term sun monitoring, shut down and dismantled in 2017.
Skylab Space Station, USA
Orbital Research Platform: NASA’s first space station, re-entered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over Australia.
Niobec Mine, Quebec
Niobium Mine, produced a strategic metal used in superconductors and steel alloys; shuttered after market shifts.
Bletchley Park Server Huts, UK
Cryptographic Computing Infrastructure, home to early codebreaking machines, left abandoned post-war until preservation began.
TSHA Microwave Hub, North Dakota
Microwave Relay Station, one of hundreds in the Bell System used to connect the U.S. before fiber took over.
Radio Kootwijk, Netherlands
Transoceanic Radio Station, connected Europe and the Dutch East Indies by high-power wireless telegraphy.
Bevatron Accelerator, Berkeley
Particle Accelerator: Helped discover antiprotons and other particles before being dismantled for newer machines.
Coalbrookdale Ironworks, UK
Historic Smelting Works: Cradle of the Industrial Revolution, ceased operations after more than 300 years.
Haunted Lantern Quarry, Cornwall
Tin and Slate Quarry: Legendary mining site associated with folklore and geological disquiet.
Cable Ship Long Lines, Atlantic
Subsea Cable Repair Vessel: Maintained transatlantic cables between the U.S. and Europe during the Cold War era.
Cascade Test Reactor, Idaho
Experimental Nuclear Reactor, used for nuclear safety research before shutdown and burial in dry cask storage.
Mount Wilson 60-foot Solar Tower, California
Solar Observatory, helped track solar activity for over a century before being retired due to funding cuts.
Brayton Point Power Station, Massachusetts
Coal-Fired Power Plant: One of the largest power producers in New England, decommissioned for environmental reasons.
AT&T Bell Systems Hub, Chicago
Telecom Switching Node,Handled trunk routing for the Midwest; abandoned after fiber-optic transition.
Ashio Copper Mine, Japan
Historic Copper Mine, one of Japan’s oldest and most environmentally controversial mines.
Mars Polar Lander
Planetary Lander (Lost), contact lost just before touchdown on Mars’ south pole; presumed crashed.
Global Network Navigator, Internet
Early Web Directory: One of the earliest commercial websites, precursor to Yahoo and search portals.
Saint-Étienne Mine, France
Coal Mine: Former industrial extraction site in Saint-Étienne, France, emblematic of 19th-century energy shifts.
Old Deephams Sewage Plant, London
Sewage Treatment Infrastructure: Processed London’s wastewater for decades before being replaced with a modern facility.
Delta-09 Missile Silo, South Dakota
Cold War Nuclear Launch Site: Once armed with an active Minuteman II missile, now preserved as a museum site.
Tinian Airfield Complex, Northern Mariana Islands
World War II Bomber Base: Launched the atomic bomb missions; later fell into disuse and overgrowth.
Woomera Rocket Range, South Australia
Ballistic Test and Launch Site: Used for UK and Australian rocket testing, including the Black Arrow program.
Petřín Radio Tower, Prague
Broadcast Infrastructure: Served FM and TV signal distribution across Central Europe during the Cold War.
Lachine Canal Industrial Locks, Montreal
Navigation and Hydraulic Infrastructure: Allowed freight and fuel to bypass the St. Lawrence rapids until modernized ports took over.
Hibernia Offshore Server Barge, Newfoundland
Maritime Energy Data Relay Node: Processed oil platform telemetry on a floating barge before cloud transfer became standard.
Nordschleife Broadcast Relay, Nürburgring
Race Transmission Infrastructure: Mounted camera towers and satellite feeds enabled live coverage of motorsport's longest track.
Minitel Server Backbone, France
National Pre-Internet Network: Used for messaging, classifieds, and database access until superseded by the web.
Obninsk Nuclear Plant, Russia
First Grid-Connected Nuclear Reactor: Produced energy and isotopes for nearly 50 years; now a technical museum.
Empress Cable Hut, Nova Scotia
Atlantic Telegraph Infrastructure: Received transoceanic Morse transmissions until dismantled and replaced by fiber lines.
Trinity Site Instrument Bunker, New Mexico
Nuclear Test Support Facility: Recorded the first atomic explosion, left scorched and sealed in the desert sands.
Massachusetts Memory Project, Boston
Statewide Archival Server: Hosted digital scans of town records, maps, and oral histories; absorbed into library networks.