Although humanity has only been around for a relatively short time, we’ve certainly made our mark on its surface. However, despite this, nature is still much more powerful.
In fact, it’s very capable of easily ‘erasing’ human-made structures and reclaiming what it originally occupied. Proof of this are these 50 photos of Mother Nature winning over various signs of civilization people have left behind.
#1 Nature At Work
Don’t be fooled. This carpet doesn’t look like that because it’s from the 1970s. What you’re seeing are patches of moss growing on an abandoned office space’s floor. Pretty groovy, huh?
Source:
rumhipstern via Reddit
#2 Car Garden
This Toyota isn’t even abandoned, and plants are already laying their claim on it. Perhaps it’s nature’s subtle way of reminding the driver of what is to come in the future?
Source:
el_capitan524 via Reddit
#3 Road to Silent Hill
If we didn’t know better, we’d think this is the road which leads to the famous abandoned town of Centralia (which is where Silent Hill takes inspiration from). In reality though, it’s a road not much traveled in Washington state.
Source:
mapmyhike via Reddit
#4 All-Natural
Don’t leave your shoes lying around when you’re out camping in the woods. You might just never see it again considering how good nature is at camouflaging things.
Source:
VomitCoffin666 via Reddit
#5 Successful Reclamation
While people are busy dumping soil in the ocean to create more land, nature is also busy with its own reclamation projects inland. And it looks like it’s doing pretty well too – by the looks of this flooded road.
Source:
resonanteye via Reddit
#6 Perfect Horror Movie Set…
…or a video game. What you’re seeing is the abandoned town of Akarmara, Abkhazia in the former USSR country Georgia. It seems to be a former residential complex. However, since there are no longer people in it, trees have become the new tenants.
Source:
hashamean via Reddit
#7 A Sign’s Final Plea
If you look closer, you’ll see that the sign seems to be saying ‘Please’ to the tree that’s eating it. Can’t blame it though, we can only imagine how terrifying it would be to be consumed by a tree.
Source:
SomeonesDrunkNephew via Reddit
#8 Sacred Reclamation
Banyan trees are considered sacred by Hindus. With this in mind, it successfully grew on the side of a residential building freely as people wouldn’t dare to cut a holy tree associated with their gods.
Source:
JohnBrownsHolyGhost via Reddit
#9 Thriving In The Gutter
Cacti are one tough plant species. They can thrive almost anywhere, including the gutter of this home. Hey, at least it looks cool, right?
Source:
scottdottcom via Reddit
#10 Trespassing Tree
What’s even more interesting than this seemingly trespassing tree is how it retained the diamond pattern of the fence it ate on the way. Look closely at the tree’s bark and see what we’re talking about.
Source:
Epicminecrafter69 via Reddit
#11 Would You Still Seat On This Bike?
This bike has probably been left out for too long, judging by the colony of moss that’s already filling its torn up seat.
Source:
teton_blamer via Reddit
#12 A Warning to Nearby Cars
No, that’s not a new Nissan Leaf model you’re seeing. But it’s pretty hard to tell anyway with how well the plants have covered this car in Beijing.
Source:
Proteon via Reddit
#13 Becoming One with Nature
This tree-street sign hybrid is one cool street post, isn’t it? Too bad, residents living on this street might not be getting their mail for a while.
Source:
Althunter_man86 via Reddit
#14 Unique Connection
This tree, which looks like it’s dressed up in camo gear, is either just ‘shaking hands’ or devouring this fence. Whichever it’s trying to do, it seems like it’s succeeding.
Source:
pwatapwet via Reddit
#15 Goodbye Childhood
The photo’s owner says the background is a navy base in Puerto Rico where they grew up in. The first frame was taken in 2004. And the right one is what it looks like today. Nature really is quick when it comes to taking back its territories once humanity leaves.
Source:
jenpriester via Reddit
#16 Traces of a Lost Road
If you look closely, you’ll realize that this isn’t your typical ground of dirt. Once a cemented road, this patch of drive has been consumed by soil and shrubbery. Think this old road still shows on Google Maps?
Source:
Mightnotapply via Reddit
#17 Nature Always Finds A Way
Ignoring the speed limit, this tree decided to make a home out of a street sign. Hopefully, drivers in the neighborhood will still pay attention to the speed limit.
Source:
Swingguitars via Imgur
#18 Indoor Garden
We wonder whether these mushrooms sprouting out of an empty home’s floorboards are edible? One thing’s for sure, though; those things probably aren’t the tasty shiitake mushrooms you’ll find in Japanese restaurants.
Source:
Seandonjuan via Reddit
#19 Reaching for the Sunlight
Notice how the branches of this tree growing out of a silo only begin towards the top? That’s because it knows it won’t be getting the sunlight it needs from way down there. Pretty clever, huh?
Source:
Ziell0s via Reddit
#20 Just a Little Moss
We’re pretty sure the hippies who must have left this van behind won’t mind its current state today. As nature lovers, this is probably the best-case scenario they could hope for.
Source:
BreakingDed via Reddit
#21 Where the Old Trains Disappeared To
This is a railway bridge that connects Krásný Jez and Ležnice in the Czech Republic. Without the constant running of trains, local flora has made the tracks their home.
Source:
JanSuchy via Wikimedia
#22 Disappearing Act
This house, which is completely covered in ivy, is said to be originally built in the 1820s. It ended up ‘disappearing’ because the old lady who currently lives there reportedly didn’t do much upkeep.
Source:
Autogegner via Reddit
#23 Rollercoaster Ride
We never thought roller coasters could get any more terrifying. This certainly looks like it could be straight out of the upcoming Zombieland 2 movie. Remember the abandoned theme park the foursome went to in the original movie?
Source:
RoyalKoala23 via Reddit
#24 Straight Out of a Fairytale
This abandoned stone cottage in rural Ireland looks like the cottages you’ll find in children’s books, doesn’t it? Minus the overgrowth and moss, it could the witch’s house where Hansel and Gretel escaped being turned to dinner.
Source:
ethan_kahn via Reddit
#25 A Landscape by Bob Ross
The view from this abandoned asylum in Italy totally looks like it could be a landscape Bob Ross would paint, right?
Source:
urbex_sno via Reddit
#26 Meanwhile at a Japanese Shrine
What if these were actual Japanese monks who meditated too long in nature that they eventually turned to stone?
Source:
98naykkan via Instagram
#27 Gone Forever
Imagine coming back to this cemetery to visit a loved one’s grave only to see this tree has eaten their gravestone. What would you do?
Source:
Arco_Sonata via Reddit
#28 Where the Orient Express Broke Down
The view from the tracks that used to run through this Chinese forest must have been stunning back in the day. Too bad the only remnant is this abandoned train car.
Source:
youknowcyc via Instagram
#29 Straight Out of a Movie
A postapocalyptic one at that. Nature really does thrive in the absence of humanity. We wonder how long it’ll take these plants to completely cover this escalator until it’s unrecognizable?
Source:
espinas3 via Instagram
#30 A Bike in the Netherlands
While this may look like an abandoned bike that’s been covered in ivy, one Reddit user says it’s most likely an art project.
Source:
martez89 via Reddit
#31 Thriving Amidst Ruins
This is an aerial view of a bunch of trees growing from the hull of a ship that was sunk in the sea.
Source:
sheenhai via Reddit
#32 Would You Live Here?
Also known as the tower of St. John the Baptist, Scola Tower used to be a former military building in Italy.
Source:
PlusFeeds via Imgur
#33 No Stopping Nature
This sign might be saying STOP, but it was unable to stop this tree from eating it up. Next, the tree will consume the NO sign below, also, despite its protests.
Source:
gravityisweak via Reddit
#34 Something Dali Would Paint
Photographed above is the inside of a home in a ghost town in Namibia. Straight out of a surrealist painting, the sands from the nearby desert took it over once the miners who lived there left.
Source:
meminaltan via Instagram
#35 A New Species of Trees?
Now, these are some pretty tall trees, we must say. Although it’s unclear whether they’ve really grown from the ground up or if there’s some platform near the chimney tops.
Source:
lorrenzo via Reddit
#36 The Buddha Doesn’t Seem to Mind
This Buddha statue is totally consumed by mangrove trees and near drowning. It doesn’t seem to mind, though.
Source:
Fire_Bucket via Reddit
#37 Straight Out of a Disney Movie
Doesn’t this abandoned French church look like it could be the interior of a castle in a Disney princess movie? We bet you’ll even be able to spy fairies flying by if you look long enough.
Source:
Quentin Chabrot U-derzho Photographe via Facebook
#38 A Christmas Tree Takes Over in Norway
This is why you should never leave your Christmas tree up after Easter. It could take over your entire home and even propagate.
Source:
iam4real via Imgur
#39 A Very Hungry Tree
This tree was caught trying to eat up this bridge. Finding the sight interesting, someone must have put googly eyes on the tree to amp up its comedic factor.
Source:
pendingperil via Reddit
#40 Left to the Elements
Here’s another place that looks like a Disney castle. This beautiful structure is a 13th-century French château. Unfortunately, it was damaged by a fire in the 1930s and has since been abandoned and left to the elements.
Source:
digitalanthill via Instagram
#41 Lone Resident
This area used to be filled with people before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the 1980s. Now, it seems like only Simon, the red fox, is left living there.
Source:
AvoidingRegret
#42 Nature Welcomes You
Apparently, this used to be a welcome mat that was decorating a cabin in a California ranch. Now, it has matted itself to the ground.
Source:
tinybuffcat via Reddit
#43 The Fun Never Stops
Since kids won’t ride this Ferris wheel anymore, plants thought they’d have some fun with it.
Source:
GhostMonkeyInSpace via Reddit
#44 Technically Still a Greenhouse
This abandoned Victorian-era greenhouse may have been abandoned, but it still serves its function to this day.
Source:
RyanSmith via Reddit
#45 Garden Goes Inside
People who love indoor gardening would definitely love to have something like this overgrown garden in this old villa.
Source:
Fire_Bucket via Reddit
#46 Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road
Looks familiar? That’s because this yellow brick road is part of an abandoned theme park dedicated to the classic film. It looks like Dorothy won’t be coming back to Oz anytime soon.
Source:
notateselecta via Reddit
#47 Radioactive Cars
No, those cars aren’t parked there for a music festival. They’re left behind cars in Fukushima after the 2011 nuclear disaster there.
Source:
OpulentWolf223 via Reddit
#48 Haunted House
It looks like Muriel and Eustace have moved out of their home in the middle of nowhere. Wonder whether they took Courage with them when they left?
Source:
GaryCPhoto via Reddit
#49 Sailing Off into the Sea
This is an abandoned beach house located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Done with its job on land, it looks like it’s bound to sail off into the sea.
Source:
Meunderwears via Reddit
#50 New Tenants Have Moved In
Once the kids moved out, and their parents have moved on, nature became the new residents of this beautiful estate.
Source:
404_lilynotfound via Reddit
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Source: OneGreenPlanet