As solid and unshakable as we think our civilization is, its grip on nature is tenuous at best. If any cracks appear in the faces of our buildings or our machines, nature is quick to move in and take over. With this in mind, here are 21 photos of places and things that nature is in the process of reclaiming.

Quite a bit of thought has been given to the idea of what Earth might look like once we’re gone. Indeed, many books and TV shows on the topic have found that nature would take our places fairly quickly. Many cities would be re-colonized within a year or two, and many of our buildings would begin crumbling soon after without human maintenance or energy sources. The Life After People series on the History Channel has a comprehensive timeline of collapses detailing when various famous landmarks of human civilization throughout the world might give way to nature.

The Old Piano Tree, California

Trees Winning Against Concrete In Hong Kong

Abandoned Inner City Railway In Paris

Bicycle Eaten by A Tree On Vashon Island, Washington

Abandoned Shopping Mall Taken Over By Fish In Bangkok

Old Abandoned Mill In Sorrento, Italy

Abandoned Ferris Wheel

Vintage Automobile Graveyard, Belgium

Abandoned Mining Town, Namibia

Abandoned 160-Year-Old Railway In Paris

102-Year-Old Abandoned Ship In Sydney, Australia

Tree Roots Overcoming Brick Sidewalk

Abandoned Mansion Near Kilgarvan, Ireland

Abandoned Train Station In Abkhazia, Georgia

I.M. Cooling Tower, Belgium

Abandoned Fishermen’s Town In Kamchatka, Russia

Angkor, Cambodia

Abandoned Hotel Room

The Radioactive Ghost City Of Pripyat, Ukraine

Image credits: castlemaineindependent.org