Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Savannah Powder Magazine

Discover Savannah Powder Magazine in Savannah, Georgia: An abandoned munitions storage facility with a rich architectural history.

Wendell Gilley Museum

Discover Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor, Maine: One of the few institutions in the United States devoted to the art of decorative bird carving.

Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya

Discover Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan: Discover the mummified remains of Ancient Egypt in the middle of metropolitan Tokyo.

Sally Lunn’s

Discover Sally Lunn's in Bath, England: This restaurant's specialty is "a major enigma for food historians.".

Skovtårnet (Forest Tower)

Discover Skovtårnet (Forest Tower) in Ronnede, Denmark: A spiralling hourglass-shaped tower rises from the forests in Denmark.

Gadsden Hotel Windows

Discover Gadsden Hotel Windows in Douglas, Arizona: The lobby of this hotel near the U.S.-Mexico border features a stained-glass mural that measures 42 feet long and 6 feet tall.

The French Church Built Like a Boat

Discover Église Sainte Catherine in Honfleur, France: One of the oldest and largest wooden churches in France was very evidently constructed by shipbuilders.

Sinnamon Cut

Discover Sinnamon Cut in Bridgeport, California:.

Icecap Ground Zero

Discover Icecap Ground Zero in Nye County, Nevada: A facility built in 1992 for an underground nuclear test remains in place today.

The Bridge Collection

Discover The Bridge Collection in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal: The history of drinking is told through 1,800 cups, chalices, and glasses at this exhibit.

Dunfermline’s Wallace Well

Discover Dunfermline's Wallace Well in Dunfermline, Scotland: Did the legendary Scottish knight William Wallace actually take refuge here after a major battle?

Blue Spring

Discover Blue Spring in Ellington, Missouri: The deepest spring in Missouri.

Acrotholus Audeti

Discover Acrotholus Audeti in Toronto, Ontario: The remains of the oldest bone-headed dinosaur in North America.

Big Spring

Discover Big Spring in Van Buren, Missouri: Often referred to as the largest spring in America.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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