Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Winter Mausoleum

Discover Winter Mausoleum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: An imposing pair of sphinxes stand guard outside this Egyptian Revival tomb.

Agbokim Waterfall

Discover Agbokim Waterfall in Obokum, Nigeria: Seven streams tumble over a cliff, resulting in this dazzling waterfall in the Nigerian rainforest.

Thor’s Rock

Discover Thor's Rock in Thurstaston, England: A geological wonder shrouded in myth.

R34 Memorial

Discover R34 Memorial in East Lothian, Scotland: The departure point for the first return flight across the Atlantic.

Janakpur Women’s Development Center

Discover Janakpur Women's Development Center in Janakpur, Nepal: This organization has been at the forefront of empowering Nepali women through art.

Ureka

Discover Ureka in San Antonio de Ureca, Equatorial Guinea: This village surrounded by breathtaking waterfalls is one of the wettest places on earth.

DuBignon Cemetery

Discover DuBignon Cemetery in Jekyll Island, Georgia: A modest walled graveyard where nobody is actually buried.

Sergeant Stubby Statue

Discover Sergeant Stubby Statue in Middletown, Connecticut: This statue honoring the most decorated dog of World War I stands in a Connecticut park.

Marquess of Londonderry Statue

Discover Marquess of Londonderry Statue in Durham, England: A monument with a strange legend involving a horse's tongue.

Temple Gardens

Discover Temple Gardens in Redcliffe, England: This church is said to have connections to the Knights Templars.

Esie Figurines

Discover Esie Figurines in Esie, Nigeria: More than 1,000 stone figures were discovered in a small Nigerian town, where they had been sitting for centuries.

Grave of Marjorie Fleming

Discover Grave of Marjorie Fleming in Kirkcaldy, Scotland: A tribute to a child prodigy who died way too young.

Museum of Ceramics

Discover Museum of Ceramics in East Liverpool, Ohio: Housing the history of a small Ohio town that is known to some as the pottery capital of the United States.

De stal van Stier Herman

Discover De stal van Stier Herman in Leiden, Netherlands: The world's first transgenic bovine has been preserved at the museum where he spent his final years—though his old stable is now a cafe.

Fontana del Gigante

Discover Fontana del Gigante in Naples, Italy: This monumental fountain has moved around the city multiple times.

The Guild of Ancient Merchant Taylors

Discover The Guild of Ancient Merchant Taylors in Bristol, England: An ornate doorway leads to the former site of one of the city's oldest society of merchants.

The Steam Locomotives of Eritrea

After decades of sitting in disrepair, the Eritrean Railway runs through the mountainous countryside once again, with much of its original equipment.

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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

PP ToS