​Pioneer Ghost Town Submerged Underwater Resurfaced Due To Drought

An old pioneer town in America that's been submerged underwater for more than 60 years has now resurfaced due to a drought in the area.

Rockport was once a town in Utah, which was founded after settlers first came to the Rockport State Park area in 1860.

It was abandoned in 1957 when the federal government decided to create the Wanship Dam, which ended up impounding the Weber River to create the Rockport Reservoir.

According to the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, the area had previously been home to around 200 people - whose homes all became intentionally flooded to make way for the new body of water.

Twitter/@DevonDewey

Now, some 64 years later, the ghost town has resurfaced after droughts in Utah caused water levels to recede, with government website Drought.gov saying 81.1 percent of the state is currently in 'extreme drought'.

Drone test pilot Devon Dewey recently managed to photograph the site from the air, with his images showing remnants of what appears to be the town's old roads and homes.

Twitter/@DevonDewey

Twitter/@DevonDewey

Tweeting the images, he wrote: "Rockport Reservoir is so low right now that many of the foundations of the old town are now visible.

"The town was flooded back in the 1950s to create the reservoir."

Speaking to KSL News, Dewey said: "It was really interesting to be standing at an overlook for the reservoir and to see faint traces of foundations of old homes and a road all below where the water would normally be.

Dewey added: "The whole area is pretty flat and uniform, so even though the foundations are old and mostly gone, you can still see them clearly if you know where to look.

"Using a drone to get a higher perspective helped to see where structures once stood."

Twitter/@DevonDewey

Twitter/@DevonDewey

Rockport State Park remains open despite the low water levels, but the park said its boat ramp has been temporarily closed.

Utah Division of State Parks spokesman Devan Chavez told The Salt Lake Tribune: "It's kind of sad, because of the drought conditions, but it's a cool little glimmer to look back and see what was there."

Chavez added: "It's helping us remember a little bit of our history."

Topics: Drone, Weather, News, History, US News

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman