The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives
The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

The old Minas de Riotinto locomotives

Martian landscape in the heart of Spain

Minas de Riotinto, Spain

We are talking about over 5000 years of mining history in this area. The landscape has been changed forever, and it looks at some places like a alien planet where red, yellow, purple mingle with green, gray and ocher.

The ten abandoned trains account that the site today are only a small part of this industrial landscape that has been suddenly stopped in 1974. At its peak, there was more than 150 trains who were traversing the long and winding road which stretched over 84 km. Each train had between 20 and 50 cars full of pyrite.

The mine located in the town of Minas de Riotinto, as we know it today, began operating in 1875 and stopped almost 100 years later. Today, if the plant is closed, a museum exists on the site.

Related content

The Mascouche seigniorial mansion - Photos by Pierre Bourgault
Mascouche, Quebec (Canada)

Jewel of Quebec's heritage, the seigniorial manor was built in 1795. Expanded several times over the years, it was used for several purposes. From 1967 to 2000 it was used as a high school and later, Quebec police organization “Sûreté du Québec”...

Northern View
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

Used as a snow dump, the site of the former Francon quarry (now known as the Saint-Michel quarry) looks like a huge crater of greenery in the heart of Montreal. This area covers approximately 20% (17% to be exact) of the district of Saint-Michel...

The abandoned music studio
North of Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

Built by record producer Andre Perry in the early 70s, Le Studio is a real monument in the history of music. Located in the Laurentian mountains, an hour and a half north of Montreal , the site was a huge recording facility, featuring the most...

Façade under a grey sky
Montréal, Quebec (Canada)

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has been deeply marked by the train, in its development. Even today, it is surrounded by three tracks : the Canadian Pacific to the west, the now abandoned Canadian National to the east and the one of the port of Montreal to...