Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Borgo Amerigo Fazio

Discover Borgo Amerigo Fazio in Trapani, Italy: A never-inhabited village that was built as part of Mussolini's agricultural reforms.

Waters Mill Ruins

Discover Waters Mill Ruins in Germantown, Maryland: The ruins of an old mill lie in a small ravine along a hiking trail near Little Seneca Creek.

Henrietta Lacks Statue

Discover Henrietta Lacks Statue in Bristol, England: A monument dedicated to the unrecognized Black "mother" of modern medicine.

Slayers Slab

Discover Slayers Slab in England: This carved stone slab marked the grave of a local dragon slayer, who makes a killer pie.

Sinhagad Fortress

Discover Sinhagad Fortress in Thoptewadi, India: This ancient fortress was once the setting for a strange battle won with the help of a lizard.

Fortaleza del Real Felipe

Discover Fortaleza del Real Felipe in Lima, Peru: Haunted by its violent past, this colonial bastion was the largest Spanish military installation in the Americas.

Stephen Hillenburg Memorial

Discover Stephen Hillenburg Memorial in Anaheim, California: A monument to the legacy of the man who created Spongebob Squarepants at the school where his passion for art and marine biology began.

Archway

Discover Archway in Kearney, Nebraska: A museum chronicling pioneer life constructed over Interstate 80.

Innis House

Discover Innis House in Fredericksburg, Virginia: A home that witnessed Civil War combat on the Sunken Road has the battle scars to prove it.

Mount Street Gardens

Discover Mount Street Gardens in London, England: Tucked away behind the mansions of Mayfair, this picturesque garden is a hidden London treasure with a spooky past.

Rait Castle

Discover Rait Castle in Nairn, Scotland: In the Scottish Highlands, this 13th-century castle ruin is hidden at the end of a farm track.

Little Hands Tree

The curious flowers of the hard-to-find Árbol de Manitas are shaped like small hands.

The Arm of Buel Stanley

Discover The Arm of Buel Stanley in Blue Ridge, Georgia: Turns out fishing with dynamite isn't all that safe.

Ridgewood Reservoir

Discover Ridgewood Reservoir in Queens, New York: This former water source for the City of Brooklyn is now a thriving natural wetland.

Jardines de Alfabia

Discover Jardines de Alfabia in Sóller, Spain: This historical manor is complete with a magnificent garden.

Tramlijn 8

Discover Tramlijn 8 in Amsterdam, Netherlands: A line number in Amsterdam that will likely never be used again due to its tragic history.

The Winchester Mizmaze

Discover The Winchester Mizmaze in Winchester, England: A rare labyrinth-style path carved into a historic hill.

Goddard Rocket Launching Site

Discover Goddard Rocket Launching Site in Auburn, Massachusetts: A small obelisk commemorates the launch site of the world's first liquid-fueled rocket.

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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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