Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Summer Falls

Discover Summer Falls in Coulee City, Washington: This large artificial waterfall in Washington state was merely an incidental byproduct of a technological megaproject.

Museum of Space Exploration

Discover Museum of Space Exploration in Pereiaslav, Ukraine: A century-old church is now a space museum with a treasure trove of Soviet space items.

The White Rose Memorial Exhibition

Discover DenkStätte Weiße Rose (White Rose Memorial Exhibition) in Munich, Germany: This poignant tribute to the White Rose movement showcases artifacts related to the heroic anti-Nazi struggle.

‘Hercules’

Discover 'Hercules' in Outer Hebrides, Scotland: A memorial to the acting bear whose escape caused a sensation on the Outer Hebrides.

‘Monument Tortura Nunca Mais’

Discover 'Monument Tortura Nunca Mais' ('Torture Never Again') in Recife, Brazil: This haunting sculpture stands as a memorial to the torture victims of the Brazilian military dictatorship.

Gemini Bridges

Discover Gemini Bridges in Moab, Utah: It's safe—and permitted—to walk across these twin natural sandstone arches.

Gleedsville Cemetery

Discover Gleedsville Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia: The all-but-forgotten cemetery is Eastern Loudon County's largest African-American burial ground.

Temple of Artemis Agrotera

Discover Temple of Artemis Agrotera in Athens, Greece: The only ancient site that remains on the south bank of the sacred Ilissos river.

Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum

Discover Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum in Chandler, Oklahoma: Located along historic Route 66, this former gas station has been restored and converted into a museum filled with vintage motorcycles.

Kenneth Dike Library

Discover Kenneth Dike Library in Ibadan, Nigeria: Not only does this library house unique Arabic manuscripts, but it was also designed to keep the building cool during warm days.

French Shore Interpretation Centre

Discover French Shore Interpretation Centre in Conche, Newfoundland and Labrador: A small museum in Newfoundland is home to a 227-foot tapestry that preserves the remote region's colorful history.

Turning Point Suffragist Memorial

Discover Turning Point Suffragist Memorial in Lorton, Virginia: The first national memorial to honor all women suffragists stands on land where suffragists were once imprisoned.

Museum of London Docklands

Discover Museum of London Docklands in London, England: A museum that chronicles the interesting and often dark history of the London docklands, once one of the major trading ports of the world.

The Trophy Room Project

Discover The Trophy Room Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts: An anonymous art project beneath Longfellow Bridge where hundreds of trophies line the steel support beams.

The Fountain of Ideas

Discover The Fountain of Ideas in Yonezawa, Japan: Ward off bad luck and fill your bottle with "the most watery water" at this little roadside shrine in Yonezawa.

Tinguely Fountain

Discover Tinguely Fountain in Basel, Switzerland: This artistic fountain display pays homage to this area's theatrical history.

Safety City

Discover Safety City in Baltimore, Maryland: A miniature city within a city, complete with traffic signs, signals, and streets to teach Baltimore's youth traffic safety laws.

Haul Road (Dalton Highway)

Discover Haul Road (Dalton Highway) in Fairbanks, Alaska: This gravelly, dangerous highway is the only road in the United States that leads to the Arctic Ocean.

Stephen Phillips House

Discover Stephen Phillips House in Salem, Massachusetts: Built in 1821 using rooms from another estate, the Phillips House is the only historic home on scenic Chestnut Street open to the public.

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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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