A handful of dilapidated roads cross the zone, half-overgrown with weeds and grasses, and the whole area is littered with pockets of intense radiation, but nature doesn't seem to mind. All nature seems to care about is that the people, along with their domestic animals, are for the most part gone. The zone is reverting to one big, untamed forest, and it all sounds like a fantastic success story for nature: remove the humans and the wilderness bounces right back. Lured by tales of mammals unknown in Europe since the Dark Ages, we're setting out on an atomic safari.
Read the rest of Henry Shukman's Outside magazine article on a visit to Chernobyl.
Wonderful bit of fiction to accompany that - Wolves Eat Dogs, by Martin Cruz Smith. The area around Chernobyl is the main locale for this fabulous detective novel.
ReplyDeleteMany photos of the graffiti art in and around Chernobyl can be found here:
http://alexcheban.livejournal.com/31164.html
Fascinating juxtaposition of horror and art...
- Jeff
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI've read that novel and it was an amazing glimpse at a strange world. {That detective series is great.]
Thanks for the link!
Michael