Archives: Atlas Obscuras

National Bottle Museum

Discover National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, New York: Thousands of bottles that have held everything from poison to perfume make up the collection of this small museum.

Bruce’s Stone

Discover Bruce's Stone in Glentrool, Scotland: On a hill overlooking Loch Trool, a granite boulder marks the site where Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, defeated an English army.

Eagle Lake

Discover Eagle Lake in Spaulding, California: At the edge of the high desert, California's second-largest natural lake is home to a unique subspecies of trout adapted to its alkaline waters.

Sanquhar Castle

Discover Sanquhar Castle in Sanquhar, Scotland: A 13th-century stronghold that has fallen into ruin.

Monteverde Ficus Root Bridge

Discover Ficus La Raiz in Monteverde, Costa Rica: In Costa Rica's cloud forest, the roots of a woody ficus create a botanical bridge.

Martyrs’ Tomb Glen Trool

Discover Martyrs' Tomb Glen Trool in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland: A square stone tomb marks the spot where six men were killed while holding a service in Caldoris Wood.

Église Saint-Maurice de Mervans

Discover Église Saint-Maurice de Mervans in Mervans, France: Was the twisted roof on this church's belltower an intentional design or a happy accident?

The Monsters of Lake Bumbunga

Discover Lake Bumbunga in Lochiel, Australia: This salt lake in South Australia features seasonal color changes and its very own loch monster.

Barrett House

Discover Barrett House in Lorton, Virginia: A weathered, American Foursquare-style house originally built for lumber merchant William Wimsatt.

Tom Robinson Park

Discover Tom Robinson Park in Lisburn, Northern Ireland: A man and his carbonated beverage.

Shelton McMurphey Johnson House

Discover Shelton McMurphey Johnson House in Eugene, Oregon: A Victorian-style home known as the “Castle on the Hill.”.

La Rifa Chocolatería

Discover La Rifa Chocolatería in Ciudad de México, Mexico: The hot chocolate here all stems from small, sustainable microproducers in Chiapas and Tabasco.

Arthur Cottage

Discover Arthur Cottage in Cullybackey, Northern Ireland: The ancestral home of the 21st president of the United States of America.

The Devil’s Den

Discover The Devil's Den in Ashland, Massachusetts: This cave was once thought to be a hiding place for the devil.

Kelvingrove Pipe Organ

Discover Kelvingrove Pipe Organ in Glasgow, Scotland: Inside this art museum resides one of Glasgow's most famous musical instruments.

Katalin Karikó Mural

Discover Katalin Karikó Mural in Budapest, Hungary: The Hungarian biochemist whose research helped develop mRNA-based vaccines for Covid-19.

The Wrong Abbey Road

Discover The Wrong Abbey Road in London, England: Tourists who rely on a transit map to find the iconic Beatles location often end up in a far-off neighborhood.

Druchtag Mote

Discover Druchtag Mote in Mochrum, Scotland: Nine hundred years ago, this was the home of a feudal lord. Today all that remains is a steep mound surrounded by a deep moat.

Proscenium Theatre

Discover Proscenium Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba: This little theatre at the end of the Urban Gallery in the Manitoba Museum plays silent films from stars who performed in Winnipeg.

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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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