We're used to reports that climate change will soon plunge the world's beloved landmarks underwater – and we're also used to tales of shipwrecks and lost cities hidden beneath the ocean. But these curious sights have an opposite story. Once swallowed by water, they've re-emerged, even if just for a brief period. Read on to discover what once lurked beneath...

Villa Epecuén, hugging a salt lake in the province of Buenos Aires, was once one of Argentina's most sought-after spa resorts. But tragedy struck in the 1980s when unprecedented amounts of rain caused Lago Epecuén to swell. The tourist town was guzzled up by some 33 feet (10m) of salt water and – so it seemed – lost forever. 

However, some 25 years later, the waters began to recede and the forgotten town started to claw its way back to the surface. What emerged was a salt-clogged, rubble-strewn landscape of ruined homes and rusted cars – a mere echo of the tourist hot spot the town used to be.

There are a few structures that have survived against the odds, though – among them is this hulking slaughterhouse built by prolific Argentine architect Francisco Salamone. The ghost town is reached via a rickety road that whiffs of an apocalypse – and you can pore over its relics and learn about its history in a little museum housed in the former train station.

The Dolmen of Guadalperal – dubbed "the Spanish Stonehenge" for obvious reasons – is a megalithic monument with a 7,000-year history. The 150-strong stone circle is a quick jaunt from the western Spanish town of Peraleda de la Mata, and it has spent upwards of 50 years underwater. 

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In the 1960s, the formation of the Valdecañas Reservoir – an important resource for local communities – left the megalithic monument flooded, its stony summits occasionally peeping out from the surface. However, record temperatures in Spain in 2019 would give the site another moment in the sun.

As temperatures soared, a drought-ravaged Spain and the Tagus River peeled back from its banks. The dolmen – possibly used as a gravesite or temple – revealed itself once more, though some of its stones were damaged and toppled. And when the rain came again, the landmark was submerged once more. Still, though, the monument's brief outing sparked demands that it be protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest.

When the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit, people on Mahabalipuram's shores were convinced they spotted a curious site: a series of boulders that revealed themselves just as the tide drew back. When the waters rushed forwards again, the structures were swallowed once more, and more than a decade would pass before the eyewitness accounts were investigated. 

When archaeologists eventually excavated the site, they indeed discovered a complex of walls and boulders, while dives revealed a flight of stairs and a series of stone blocks. It's thought that the ruins are either the traces of an ancient port city, or perhaps the vestiges of a centuries-old temple.

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Potosi, a town in north-western Venezuela, once had a population of around 1,200 people – but when a hydroelectric power plant was built, and the Uribante Reservoir created, the original settlement was flooded and its inhabitants moved elsewhere. Captured in 2005, this eerie image shows what remained of the once-buzzy town: a rusting steeple rising from gray, mountain-fringed waters.

The bleak image of the floating steeple attracted visitors in its own right: adventurers would take boat rides on the reservoir and snap photos of the drowned church. But, from around 2008, a drought in Venezuela meant that the lake waters gradually inched away and the lone steeple seemed to push further towards the sky.

Eventually, the waters receded enough to reveal the entire church – an empty husk with only its façade left standing. Other foundations of the ruined village have shown themselves too, along with a handful of haunting grave sites. Now tourists and cattle wander between the structures, imagining what life in the drowned village might once have looked like. 

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Muang Badan is another historic city that was submerged when a dam was built: the Vajiralongkorn Dam, to be exact, which dates to the 1980s and which formed the Khao Laem Reservoir. A remarkable trio of temples were gulped up by the reservoir, parts of which can still be seen peeping above the surface. This photo shows boat-trippers drinking in the view of an intricate bell tower rising from the lake. 

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Happily, the old city's sacred structures aren't always completely submerged. When the water levels of the artificial lake are very low – typically in March and April – sodden buildings such as this ornate, honey-hued one begin to soar from the depths.

This is Wat Si Suwannaram Gao, pictured in the dry season. The waters have receded and the temple – now an empty shell hollowed out by decades under the surface – can be seen perched on grassy banks.

Though they could easily be mistaken for craggy rocks, these formations off the coast of mainland Greece are actually the edge of a sunken settlement, gradually revealed by lapping waves. It's thought that the ancient city of Pavlopetri dates back around 5,000 years and that it was submerged by an earthquake around 1,000 BC. Investigations have revealed a maze of streets, a temple and a big central plaza. 

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As drought gripped Iraq in the fall of 2018, the Mosul Dam reservoir, along the Tigris River, began to lose water. And something quite spectacular was revealed. As swathes of the area dried out, a jumble of ruins began to emerge and German and Kurdish archaeologists rushed to excavate them.

They discovered what they now believe to be a Bronze Age palace, most likely dating to the era of the Mittani Empire (powerful from the 15th to the 14th century BC). The impressive structure is comprised of mud-brick walls, some as thick and tall as six feet (2m) in places.

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Little is known about the Mittani Empire – and the discovery of 10 clay tablets will offer a further glimpse into the mystery-shrouded dynasty. For now, though, it's possible to imagine the former palace standing proud on the banks of the Tigris, a vast terrace wall looking out over the water.

The Spanish town of Mansilla de la Sierra is a chilling sight. It was once home to around 600 people but – in a familiar story – a dam built in the 1960s forced inhabitants out and left Mansilla de la Sierra moldering underwater. However, during dry spells, the ghost town rears its head once more. 

One of those dry spells occurred in 2016, when the Mansilla de la Sierra reservoir was at just a fraction of its capacity. Here, in this fall shot from 2016, people wander about the ruins in the rain-starved La Rioja region. You can see a series of stone foundations, plus the crumbling shell of what might have been a former home, rising from the sludge.

Lake Vagli, in the Tuscan countryside is more than just a reservoir – it conceals an entire medieval village in its waters. Fabbriche di Careggine was submerged in 1946 after a dam was built further up the lake plunging the village under 1.2 billion cubic feet (34m cubic meters) of water. The then residents were relocated further south to another village, Vagli di Sotto.

Roughly once a decade Lake Vagli is intentionally drained to maintain the dam and the old village is unveiled. It was last visible in 1994, but has previously remerged in 1958, 1974, 1983 too. The events attracted visitors from around the world, eager to see the ghostly 12th-century stone buildings.

In 2020 there were rumors the lake would be drained. But there’s still no official word from Enel, who owns the site, about exactly when the dam will be closed and the phantom-like village will surface once more. 

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The sight of this church peeking out from the teal waters of Mavrovo Lake will have you reaching for your camera. Serving the dinky village of Mavrovo, St Nicholas Church was built back in 1850 and was revered for its intricate icons painted by artist Dicho Zograf. But, when a hydroelectric power plant was constructed in the 1950s, the beloved church was submerged by water.

The church was never completely lost, though – its striking belfry has always sliced through the water's surface. But, come summer, you can see even more of this haunting sacred site. The waters recede in the warmer months and the church's battered shell is left out to dry. Tourists come to peer at the ruin, which rises up before a backdrop of tree-covered peaks. 

These incredible places could be underwater by 2050