Known as the most toxic town in America is Picher, Oklahoma – an abandoned ghost town that looks like an apocalyptic city in northeastern Oklahoma. It was deemed a Superfund site by the EPA as a result of years of mining and dumping mountains called “chats” on top of the ground. But before this happened, it was once a thriving town with over 10,000 residents and thousands of buildings. Today, it’s highly cautioned to avoid the area, not only because it’s rumored to be haunted, but because it’s highly toxic. Instead, take a look below at the images and video footage captured over the last few years.

In 2006, Picher was declared to be so dangerous to human life that it was evacuated and left to quietly rot. Today, the town is considered far too toxic for human habitation.
Jeremy/Flickr
Picher was once the site of a massive lead and zinc mine. Huge mountains of "chat" – a mining byproduct – dotted the landscape of the town.
Seph Lawless/Youtube
Mounds of "chat" are found all over the area and were once used as casual playgrounds for the children in the town. But the huge dust piles are nothing more than toxic waste, loaded with lead.
Seph Lawless/Youtube

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The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study in 2006 and found that eighty-six percent of the city's buildings were resting on ground that was about to collapse. At any given moment the very ground beneath the residents could give way, creating a huge sinkhole and taking everything in its path down with it.
Seph Lawless/Youtube
Finally in 2009, the EPA and state of Oklahoma bought the land and moved everyone out of town.
Tyson Luneau/Flickr
Everything in town was left to ruins and many, many buildings and chats still stand today. Please take the advice of the EPA and stay far away from this abandoned ghost town.
Marada/Flickr

To get an up close view of Picher, check out this video:

 

Can you believe this place exists in Oklahoma? If you have any stories of this abandoned ghost town, please share your experience in the comments section.

If you enjoy learning more about Oklahoma’s ghost towns, check out this article about Skedee – a once thriving oil boom town in the Sooner State.

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Picher, OK 74360, USA