21 photos showing nature's victory over civilization

We always think that civilization and buildings are solid and unshakable, but their mastery of nature may not be that strong. If cracks appear in buildings or machines, it is not long before nature can act quickly, assuming the place it should never have left.

Many books and TV shows on the subject have found that nature would return to its place in no time. Many cities would be recolonized within a year or two, and many of the buildings would collapse soon after, as soon as maintenance or energy from human sources ceased.

The Life After People series on the History Channel has a comprehensive timeline of breakdowns detailing various milestones of human civilization that have given way to nature. With that in mind, let's look at 21 photos of places and things where green is in the process of recovering.

1 - The tree inside the old piano in California

2 - The victory of trees against concrete in Hong Kong

3 - The abandoned tunnel in Paris

4 - The bike eaten by a tree on Vashon Island in Washington

5 - The Abandoned Fish-Filled Mall in Bangkok

6 - Old abandoned mill in Sorrento, Italy

7 - The abandoned ferris wheel

8 - The car cemetery in Belgium

9 - The Abandoned House in Namibia

10 - The railway abandoned 160 years ago in Paris

11 - The ship abandoned 102 years ago in Sydney, Australia

12 - Tree Roots Overcoming Bricks

13 - Tree Roots Overcoming the Bricks - Part 2

14 - The Abandoned Mansion Near Kilgarvan, Ireland

15 - Abandoned train station in Abkhazia, Georgia

16 - The cooling tower in Belgium

17 - The abandoned fishing town of Kamchatka, Russia

18 - Angkor, Cambodia

19 - Angkor, Cambodia - Part 2

20 - Abandoned Hotel Room

21 - The radioactive city of Pripyat, Ukraine