Many incredible sites have reopened or begun welcoming tourists again this year, yet sadly not all. Whether due to ferocious extreme weather events, from catastrophic floods to deadly forest fires, or renovations deemed too costly, sadly many natural and historic attractions no longer exist. We look back on some of the stunning sights that have been lost in 2021.

Named after biologist Charles Darwin, this 141-foot (43m) high rock formation off the southeastern coast of Darwin Island was once one of the most famous sea arches in the world. As well as being a stunning sight, it was a prime spot for scuba diving.

But tragedy hit on 17 May 2021, when the arch suddenly fell through, leaving two pillars behind. According to diving website Scuba Diver Life, the event was witnessed by divers at around 11.20am local time. The collapse was a result of natural erosion.

Greece’s second-largest island, Evia, is known for its old-growth Aleppo pine forests. These biodiverse woodlands are prized for their resin, which is used in everything from medicines to cosmetics, and pine honey: around 70% of Greek pine honey is collected from Evia. Hundreds of families’ livelihoods are supported by the resin and honey industries, and the island of Evia is also a popular tourist destination

Yet much of the ecologically-rich forest was burned to the ground during wildfires in August 2021, which destroyed around 100,000 hectares of woodland and suburbs on the island. The heatwave endured by southern Europe was its most intense in 30 years, and the fires, fuelled by climate change, were called “a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions” by Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Located in northern California, Greenville was once a thriving Gold Rush town. The area, which was originally inhabited by the Maidu tribe, began to attract settlers in the 1850s at the onset of the state’s Gold Rush. When logging and ranching replaced mining from the early 1900s, the town continued to prosper. Although its original Gold Rush-era structures were destroyed in a fire in the 1880s, it still contained buildings dating back more than a century.

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Sadly, the historic town was almost completely decimated by the Dixie Fire which hit California this summer. In early August, the wildfire destroyed well over 100 homes and Greenville’s 1,000-strong population had to be evacuated, according to the Plumas County sheriff. The Dixie Fire was the largest in Californian history.

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During California’s Gold Rush, the town of Rich Bar in Feather River Canyon was a hot spot for prospectors. In fact, it’s estimated that the town and its surrounding area provided $23 million (£16.7m) of gold in the first few decades. While much of the town was abandoned or fell into disrepair, several historic buildings including the 1852 Kellogg House were left intact.

Or at least, they were until this summer. When the Dixie Fire hit California in late July, the former Gold Rush town was engulfed in flames. Among the oldest buildings to be destroyed was Kellogg House, which had all its original furnishings from the mid-1800s. According to Scott Lawson, whose ancestors came to Rich Bar during the Gold Rush, people used to visit the town from all over to find out about its mining history.

The Indian Himalayas are home to around 10,000 glaciers and the state of Uttarakhand, in the west, is home to around 1,495 of them. Yet spurred by warming temperatures, these natural wonders are receding at a faster rate than ever. In fact, a landmark report in 2019 found that one-third of glaciers in the Himalayan ice cap are doomed to disappear by 2100, regardless of whether severe steps to halt climate change are taken.

In February 2021, disaster struck when a large chunk of a glacier next to the remote, 18,372-foot (5,600m) Raunthi mountain broke off. It fell into the valley below, causing an enormous flash flood which left at least 26 people confirmed dead and more than 100 missing. According to Dr Kalachand Sain, director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, climate change was the main factor that caused the glacier to collapse.

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Opened in 1913 in New Orleans, the Karnofsky Tailor Shop was run by a Jewish family called the Karnofskys. The spot served as a kind of second home to jazz musician Louis Armstrong, who grew up nearby on Perdido Street and became close with the Karnofskys during childhood. The family lent him money to buy his first cornet and hired him to work on their coal and junk wagons.

Sadly the residence, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, didn’t survive when Hurricane Ida swept through the city this August. It had already been in a state of deterioration beforehand, so when the fateful storm battered New Orleans, the historic building crumbled to the ground.

On the outskirts of the commuter town of Erftstadt in western Germany, Blessem castle has been inhabited by the same family for more than 300 years. The castle, which until recently housed 40 people, was in the process of being restored to its former 19th-century glory. 

Unfortunately any hopes of restoration have been dashed by the events of this summer. On 16 July, part of the historic castle as well as three half-timbered buildings were destroyed by brutal floods, which swept across western Germany following record-breaking rainfall. More than 100 people were killed in the floods.

In April, a wildfire broke out on South Africa’s Table Mountain and quickly spread to the University of Cape Town, destroying several historic buildings. Among them were the Jagger Library (pictured), a 1930s building which housed more than 85,000 books and pamphlets on African Studies, and Mostert’s Mill (pictured next slide), a working windmill built in 1796.

Following an initial investigation, South African National Parks declared that the blaze started from a vacated vagrant fire. However, low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures helped it to spread quickly. As well as destroying important landmarks, the fire ravaged 600 hectares of Table Mountain and the surrounding area.

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California’s Sequoia National Forest is known for its ancient, towering trees – the oldest, General Sherman, is 2,000 years old and 275-feet (83m) tall. Yet these precious natural wonders are under threat from wildfires. In August 2020, the Castle fire decimated around 10% of the world’s giant sequoias, and this May one giant sequoia was found to be still smouldering, months after the flames had vanished. 

Sadly, the destruction has only been exacerbated by this year’s fires. The Windy Fire, which has currently affected 36,249 acres and is just 6% contained, has burned through part of Long Meadow Grove, which is home to many 1,500 year-old sequoias. However, some attempts to protect the historic trees have been successful. The Four Guardsmen, four giant sequoias which form an entryway to the forest, have been protected from the flames by fire-resistant materials wrapped around their trunks and having nearby foliage removed.

Best known for its epic fossils, sandy beaches and impressive rock formations including Durdle Door (pictured), the Jurassic Coast is a popular holiday spot. Yet it’s under threat from increasingly severe rockfalls. In the early hours of 13 April 2021, a 984-foot (300m) stretch of the coastline collapsed, sending more than 4,000 tonnes of rock crashing onto the beach below.

The rockfall was the UK’s largest in 60 years and was caused by weathering and erosion. As rainfall enters fissures in the rocks and freezes, the ground becomes saturated, then cool temperatures cause the water to freeze and the cracks to expand. It’s thought that this process was accelerated by temperature variations between hot days and cool nights in April.

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First opened in 1905, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch was considered one of the finest churches in Australasia. It had a Neoclassical design which echoed that of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with a marble and bronze altar and several local artists’ work inside. Yet the sacred site was largely destroyed by the catastrophic earthquake which hit New Zealand in 2011.

The heavily-damaged cathedral was left standing for almost a decade, until demolition works began in December 2020. Bishop Paul Martin stated that restoring the building would be too expensive, so a newer cathedral would be built at a cost of NZ$40 million (US$28m/£21m) closer to Christchurch city centre. Numerous treasures have been discovered during the demolition, including 1980s time capsules, a nativity scene and old currency, although a pair of bronze angels dating to 1905 were, mysteriously, missing.

Built between 1955 and 1956, the Dorman Long tower was created to store coal for Redcar steelworks in Teesside, northeast England. The Brutalist-style building, which stood at 183-feet (56m) tall, had been disused for decades but was recognised for its important role in the region’s industrial history. 

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The tower had been given Grade II-listed status after plans emerged to demolish it. But on 17 September, just a day after taking on her new role as Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries overturned the building’s protections and ordered for it to be flattened. The demolition, which took place on 19 September, was met with outcry from many local people, yet Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchden claimed maintaining the tower would have been too costly.

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