Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Ellesmere Island Mummified Forest

Discover Ellesmere Island Mummified Forest in Nunavut: Rare mummified forest could offers a glimpse into how our environment has been changed by humans.

Walt Whitman Monument

Discover Walt Whitman Monument in Cloyne, Ontario: A massive, fading granite poem is all that remains of one Whitman superfan's tribute to the famous writer.

Reynolds-Alberta Museum

Discover Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta: An automotive, farming machinery, and aviation museum located in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada.

La Colle Falls Dam

Discover La Colle Falls Dam in Prince Albert No. 461, Saskatchewan: This partially completed dam was simply abandoned after nearly destroying the city it was built to service.

Rankin Inlet Inunnguaq

Discover Rankin Inlet Inunnguaq in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut: A modern version of the stone cairns built by the Inuit.

Brock’s Monument

Discover Brock's Monument in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: This seemingly cursed monument is dedicated to one of Canada's great war heroes.

The Tuktoyaktuk Pingos

Discover The Tuktoyaktuk Pingos in Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories: Natural earth mounds formed in the far north.

SS Moyie

Discover SS Moyie in Kaslo, British Columbia: The "Crow Boat" of Kootenay Lake, sold for a dollar and now on display as "the world's oldest intact passenger sternwheeler.".

‘Primrose’

Discover 'Primrose' in Toronto, Ontario: A touching tribute to the "Wonkey Donkey.".

Mammoth Cheese Replica

Discover Mammoth Cheese Replica in Perth, Ontario: A fake block of cheese remembers a feat of dairy engineering from the Chicago World's Fair.

One of Canada’s First Planned Communities

Discover Broughton, Nova Scotia in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia: The remains of an attempt to carve a thriving metropolis from the forest, and once home to the first revolving door in North America.

Mary Celeste Monument

Discover Mary Celeste Monument in Diligent River, Nova Scotia: Commemoration of a sea voyage gone mysteriously wrong.

Leg-In-Boot Square

Discover Leg-In-Boot Square in Vancouver, British Columbia: This mundane shopping plaza is named after a gruesome piece of flotsam.

Pterosaur Jaw Bone

Discover Pterosaur Jaw Bone in Victoria, British Columbia: First flying reptile discovered in British Columbia was for years forgotten in a cabinet.

The World’s Largest Tandem Axle Truck

Discover The World's Largest Tandem Axle Truck in Sparwood, British Columbia: Nestled near the mountains of western Canada resides this behemoth earth mover.

Longitudinal Centre of Canada

Discover Longitudinal Centre of Canada in Lorette, Manitoba: This strangely specific landmark will let travelers know when they are half way there.

Red Bay, Labrador

Discover Red Bay, Labrador in Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador: A forlorn fishing village on the coast of Labrador, full of shipwrecks and Spanish gold.

Old Prison of Trois-Rivières

Discover Old Prison of Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Québec: This historic Canadian jail was once the longest operating prison in the country and is now open for people to incarcerate themselves.

Menu

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

PP ToS