Gagnon Ghost Town (10 photos)

Gagnon, Quebec is a ghost town unlike any other.





There are no abandoned buildings, houses or any traces of infrastructure here, except for a lonely road that crosses the place where life was once in full swing.



However, less than 40 years ago, Gagnon was a thriving mining town with an airport, churches, schools, a town hall, an ice rink, a hospital, and a major shopping mall. All this despite being isolated and accessible only by air.





Gagnon is located approximately 600 kilometers north of Quebec City on the shores of the Manicouagan Reservoir, a huge impact crater and one of the most important geological monuments in the province. The city was founded in 1960 after the discovery of iron ore in the region. The shores of Lake Barbel were chosen for the construction of the future settlement. Gagnon developed rapidly: a hospital, airport, churches, schools and other infrastructure facilities appeared in a short time to provide comfort to residents. At its peak, the city's population was about 4,000 people.



In the 1970s, steel production in North America declined due to the recession of 1973–1975, the effects of which were felt well into the 1980s. In 1977, the ore reserves finally ran out, and mining was moved to the Fire Lake mine (about 90 kilometers northeast of Gagnon). By the mid-1980s, the mines had become unprofitable, and they decided to close them. The town was evacuated, but instead of preserving the buildings, Gagnon was completely demolished in 1985. Today, all that remains is a deserted main street and an airport runway.



Two years after the town closed, a highway was built that could have ended Gagnon's isolation. It connects Bayeux-Comeau and Labrador, passing less than 100 meters from where the town once stood.





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