Decades ago, when cars reached the end of their useful life, many ended up in vehicle graveyards and were abandoned in the middle of nature. Fortunately, with the passage of time and the implementation of stricter regulations, images of hundreds of cars turned into rusty scrap metal are becoming less common.
However, there are still places where this scene from the past lingers, where cars with thousands of kilometres on their wheels find their final resting place in the most unexpected places. This is the case of a car cemetery located next to the Rocky Mountains, in the state of Montana (United States), which has become a place of pilgrimage for fans of abandoned cars after its existence was made known on social networks in 2012.
A truck that is several decades old rests in a car cemetery located in the state of Montana (United States)
It’s been 12 years since this iconic site began attracting the attention of automotive history enthusiasts. Just like the car graveyard hidden in a Swedish forest for more than half a century, visitors come from all over every year to explore these vestiges of the past. Most who make the trip to the site are captivated by the history and decay of the abandoned vehicles.
The car cemetery is located in the Rocky Mountains, in the state of Montana
The cemetery, which covers some 20 hectares of land, houses an impressive collection of hundreds of cars of every make, model and size imaginable. Most of these vehicles, after years of abandonment in the prairies of the Rocky Mountains, are destined for a common fate: to be dismantled to sell their parts as used spare parts.
Hundreds of cars pile up on a 20-hectare plot of land
Only a very small portion of cars find a second life as props in films or television series, while the rest wait silently among the grasses of the meadows, remembering times gone by.
The existence of this place has gained fame in recent years, thanks to its popularity on social networks and the videos shared by YouTubers from different parts of the United States. Since the 1970s, the cemetery has seen the gradual abandonment of cars, some of them several decades old, that have been accumulating on its grounds.
The place has been made known on social media, but its guardians try to remain anonymous to avoid the presence of curious people.
Despite its growing notoriety, the exact location of the car cemetery remains a closely guarded secret by its guardians, who prefer to keep this unique and fascinating place anonymous, to avoid possible degradation of the site.
Among the cars that most inspire visitors are a bullet-shaped Studebaker, Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs, and several Volkswagen buses. All of these vehicles were abandoned for no apparent reason and many of them are in a very poor state of repair.
In this car cemetery it is easy to see examples of various brands and models.
In recent years, says one YouTuber, the collection has grown significantly, with hundreds of school buses ending up at the site, which has raised eyebrows among some visitors. “This is a $40,000 bus!” commented a perplexed visitor in a report published by the British newspaper ‘Daily Mail’.
The mystery surrounding this car graveyard has made it a fascinating destination for urban explorers and automotive history buffs, who travel from all corners of the country to discover this unusual treasure hidden in the mountains.
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Below, you can get an idea of the dimensions of the cemetery and see some of the cars that populate it by watching the attached video.
