Desolate Places Near Metropolitan Areas

[Avalanchez71]

So name some really desolate places really close to a metropolitan area.  This is mapped as Miami, FL.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.6474508,-80.5706903,3a,75y,244.98h,71.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPh3eYvo4lG9nkxhJO1VrZw!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

[hotdogPi]

Assuming you're counting land only (the oceans obviously don't have humans living there), the Everglades and the Miami metro area are going to be the best example in the United States. There was a similar thread about this; it was slightly different, as the other thread was about places that feel desolate, while this one is about places that are desolate.

[kphoger]

You don't have to go too far out of El Paso to find this sort of country.  I remember flying into El Paso, looking down at all the red dirt and wondering if there was a city anywhere nearby.

ETA – This, for example, is just 10 miles away from Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

[Max Rockatansky]

The Apache Trail on AZ 88 on the Salt River is a pretty dramatic shift from urban Phoenix.  The Everglades literally just suddenly starts west of Miami with no transition. 

[adventurernumber1]

Before clicking on this thread, I knew Miami, Florida would be the perfect example of this in the United States. It's hard to beat all the Highways and suburbia that instantly turn into the swampy, barely-populated Everglades as you head West. The Miami Metro Area is incredibly large and populated; however it is much, much longer north-south than it is east-west. There is definitely an abrupt change of scenery at the western edge of the metro area that is hard to beat.


Trying to think of other examples:

1) Denver, Colorado comes to mind. I'm not certain how concentrated of people the mountains right directly west of Denver are, but it seems like they must be at least somewhat desolate. With mountains (especially huge ones like the Rockies) being large natural geographic barriers, it is not too surprising of the abrupt change that happens when traveling West out of the Denver Metro Area. On the other side, I'm not sure exactly how abrupt the change is, but it seems like that, in places, the Great Plains are somewhat desolate, and of course that is what lies directly on the east side of the Denver Metro Area.

2) New Orleans, Louisiana is probably in a similar boat as Miami. I've never been there (though I have seen road videos, pictures, street-view, and more from the area), but I am guessing that since the New Orleans Metro Area is below sea level, close to the coast, and IIRC, surrounded by marshlands, there is probably a pretty abrupt change of scenery when exiting the Metro Area in any direction.

I can't think of any other possible metropolitan areas regarding this at the moment (that I know for certain), though places other people have mentioned such as El Paso, Texas definitely sound and seem like they would be good contenders.

[kphoger]

1) Denver, Colorado comes to mind. I'm not certain how concentrated of people the mountains right directly west of Denver are, but it seems like they must be at least somewhat desolate. With mountains (especially huge ones like the Rockies) being large natural geographic barriers, it is not too surprising of the abrupt change that happens when traveling West out of the Denver Metro Area. On the other side, I'm not sure exactly how abrupt the change is, but it seems like that, in places, the Great Plains are somewhat desolate, and of course that is what lies directly on the east side of the Denver Metro Area.

It's very noticeable when you come or go via US-6.  This, for example, is the view just 1½ miles from the restaurants and microbreweries of downtown Golden.

[Max Rockatansky]

Before clicking on this thread, I knew Miami, Florida would be the perfect example of this in the United States. It's hard to beat all the Highways and suburbia that instantly turn into the swampy, barely-populated Everglades as you head West. The Miami Metro Area is incredibly large and populated; however it is much, much longer north-south than it is east-west. There is definitely an abrupt change of scenery at the western edge of the metro area that is hard to beat.


Trying to think of other examples:

1) Denver, Colorado comes to mind. I'm not certain how concentrated of people the mountains right directly west of Denver are, but it seems like they must be at least somewhat desolate. With mountains (especially huge ones like the Rockies) being large natural geographic barriers, it is not too surprising of the abrupt change that happens when traveling West out of the Denver Metro Area. On the other side, I'm not sure exactly how abrupt the change is, but it seems like that, in places, the Great Plains are somewhat desolate, and of course that is what lies directly on the east side of the Denver Metro Area.

2) New Orleans, Louisiana is probably in a similar boat as Miami. I've never been there (though I have seen road videos, pictures, street-view, and more from the area), but I am guessing that since the New Orleans Metro Area is below sea level, close to the coast, and IIRC, surrounded by marshlands, there is probably a pretty abrupt change of scenery when exiting the Metro Area in any direction.

I can't think of any other possible metropolitan areas regarding this at the moment (that I know for certain), though places other people have mentioned such as El Paso, Texas definitely sound and seem like they would be good contenders.

El Paso east on US 180/62 is especially desolate heading towards the Guadalupe Mountains.  So desolate in fact that you warned there isn't gas for I want to say about 100 miles to Carlsbad?  Really there is nice scenery with the Salt Flat, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and even Carlsbad Caverns if you are willing to explore a little.  North on US 54 skirts the White Sands Missile Range but the road feels far more traveled than US 180/62.

[pdx-wanderer]

West of Salt Lake City on I-80 and north of Las Vegas on US-95 come to mind.

[kphoger]

So desolate in fact that you warned there isn't gas for I want to say about 100 miles to Carlsbad? 

And, really, who wants to pay the Carlsbad price of gasoline?

[DTComposer]

Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

That sounds pretty desolate to me

I would say any of the desert metro areas (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque, etc.) have at least the level of desolation within the same amount of distance (or less) than the OP - and perhaps even more desolate, since those areas are largely void of vegetation. Similar with the high desert exurbs of Los Angeles (Lancaster/Palmdale, Victorville/Hesperia):

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7627181,-118.094736,3a,60y,53.38h,85.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDTdDtbANayRKg4854UuN9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is less than four miles from suburbia (as opposed to nearly 8 miles in the OP).

[Avalanchez71]

Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

That sounds pretty desolate to me

I would say any of the desert metro areas (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque, etc.) have at least the level of desolation within the same amount of distance (or less) than the OP - and perhaps even more desolate, since those areas are largely void of vegetation. Similar with the high desert exurbs of Los Angeles (Lancaster/Palmdale, Victorville/Hesperia):

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7627181,-118.094736,3a,60y,53.38h,85.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDTdDtbANayRKg4854UuN9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is less than four miles from suburbia (as opposed to nearly 8 miles in the OP).

That is a good example showing that the sprawl of Los Angeles is all the way to Lancaster.

[webny99]

Here in Rochester we don't have anything that can compete on a national level. However, the areas south and west of the airport turn rural very quickly, with basically only the airport lying between the city and farmland.

We also had another thread in which we talked about fast changes from urban/suburban to rural. I imagine many of the same places (El Paso, Miami) would qualify for both threads.

Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

That sounds pretty desolate to me

His link does, indeed, show a very desolate area. The aforementioned stores cannot be seen from the link.

[Max Rockatansky]

So desolate in fact that you warned there isn't gas for I want to say about 100 miles to Carlsbad? 

And, really, who wants to pay the Carlsbad price of gasoline?

I'm sure there are plenty of folks willing to pay if they weren't prepared leaving El Paso.  Even near El Paso on US 180/62 it is hard finding gas until near the junction with TX 375.  I usually didn't need gas at least until Roswell which was a little cheaper.  I want to say even in the low elevations of New Mexico they were still trying to peddle 85 octane as "regular unleaded."

[Avalanchez71]

85 octane in Mexico or New Mexico?

[Max Rockatansky]

85 octane in Mexico or New Mexico?

New Mexico, it is fairly common in Mountain States.  Mid-Grade is usually 88 octane.

[kphoger]

85 octane in Mexico or New Mexico?

Regular is 87 octane in Mexico.  I took this picture in Monclova, Coahuila:


Regular is 85 octane everywhere I've been in Colorado, even Burlington.  I took this picture in Pueblo, Colorado:

[corco]

85 octane in Mexico or New Mexico?

New Mexico, it is fairly common in Mountain States.  Mid-Grade is usually 88 octane.

In my experience, New Mexico usually uses 86, unlike the 85 that CO/WY/UT/Eastern Idaho use.

[DTComposer]

Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

That sounds pretty desolate to me

I would say any of the desert metro areas (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque, etc.) have at least the level of desolation within the same amount of distance (or less) than the OP - and perhaps even more desolate, since those areas are largely void of vegetation. Similar with the high desert exurbs of Los Angeles (Lancaster/Palmdale, Victorville/Hesperia):

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7627181,-118.094736,3a,60y,53.38h,85.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDTdDtbANayRKg4854UuN9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is less than four miles from suburbia (as opposed to nearly 8 miles in the OP).

That is a good example showing that the sprawl of Los Angeles is all the way to Lancaster.

Not really - and it depends on your definition of "sprawl."

First, it's not continuous - there's 15 miles of rural area along CA-14 between Santa Clarita and Palmdale, and another few miles between Santa Clarita and L.A. itself - notice that I called them exurbs, not suburbs.

Second, if "sprawl" is defined as low-density urban development, then these exurbs are not nearly as "sprawl"-like as most urban areas, including Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_urban_areas

Sort the table by density, and you'll find that most California urban areas are surprisingly non-sprawling - and include 7 of the top 10 most dense areas.

Now, if you define "sprawl" as cookie-cutter in terms of architectural styles, well then, you have a point, but you can make that argument for most sections of most cities in the country.

Wal-Mart, Lowe's, PetSmart, fast food, ...

That sounds pretty desolate to me

His link does, indeed, show a very desolate area. The aforementioned stores cannot be seen from the link.

My sarcasm was lost (should have picked a better smiley). It was an attempt at a joke about the same-ness of big box stores throughout the country, stripping individual cities of their individual character.

[Max Rockatansky]

85 octane in Mexico or New Mexico?

New Mexico, it is fairly common in Mountain States.  Mid-Grade is usually 88 octane.

In my experience, New Mexico usually uses 86, unlike the 85 that CO/WY/UT/Eastern Idaho use.

Usually I was up in Ruidoso or Alamogordo but it was years ago so I could be mistaken.  I believe it clicked down to 85 in the Sierra Blancas and certain heights..  Isn't the degraded octane for some sort of emissions purpose?

[Beltway]

The Dismal Swamp in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7890604,-76.144595,61390m/data=!3m1!1e3

Per Wiki --
The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of the southern Virginia independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk and northern North Carolina counties of Gates, Pasquotank, and Camden. Some estimates place the size of the original swamp at over one million acres (4,000 km2), stretching from Norfolk, Virginia to Edenton, North Carolina.

It is a southern swamp, one of many along the Atlantic Ocean's coast, including the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp in Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, the Congaree Swamp of South Carolina, and some of the Carolina bays in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Lake Drummond, a 3,100-acre (13 km2) natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. The lake, a remarkably circular body of water, is one of only two natural lakes in Virginia. Along the Great Dismal Swamp's eastern edge runs the Dismal Swamp Canal, completed in 1805.

[Hurricane Rex]

The cascades are just east of Portland and especially Seattle.

[english si]

This is inside the M25. Marshland stops easy building, and this is on the edge of a bird sanctuary.

[sparker]

If you look at a CA state map, the area north of Santa Barbara (and bounded by CA 192, CA 154, US 101, CA 166, CA 33, and CA 150) is one of the most desolate areas located anywhere near the populated area (Ventura County and south & west Santa Barbara County).  Recently in the news because of the massive Thomas wildfire and ensuing mudslides in Montecito (at the southern edge of this wilderness), it is a complex of canyons and ridges without much in the way of developable flatter sections -- which is why it has remained largely untouched and uninhabited since CA was settled.  Driving up CA 33 from Ojai to CA 166 certainly gives one an idea of this particular topography (I highly recommend that drive in any case; one of the more scenic in SoCal).

[Roadgeekteen]

Closest in Boston area is Dover and the towns in that area. Not actually very far from Boston but looks rural.

[Max Rockatansky]

If you look at a CA state map, the area north of Santa Barbara (and bounded by CA 192, CA 154, US 101, CA 166, CA 33, and CA 150) is one of the most desolate areas located anywhere near the populated area (Ventura County and south & west Santa Barbara County).  Recently in the news because of the massive Thomas wildfire and ensuing mudslides in Montecito (at the southern edge of this wilderness), it is a complex of canyons and ridges without much in the way of developable flatter sections -- which is why it has remained largely untouched and uninhabited since CA was settled.  Driving up CA 33 from Ojai to CA 166 certainly gives one an idea of this particular topography (I highly recommend that drive in any case; one of the more scenic in SoCal).

Which also happens to be part of the Old US 399 corridor.  There are some awesome views of he snaking roadway north of Ventura.