Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Turkish Beach Where You Can Walk on Water

Discover Maiden's Sand Path of Kizkumu Beach in Marmaris, Turkey: According to local legends, the shallow sandbar that allows visitors to walk across Orhaniye Bay has a tragic backstory.

Grave of Walter Lindrum

Discover Grave of Walter Lindrum in Carlton North, Australia: A distinctive monument for this former world champion takes the form of a billiards table, complete with balls and cue.

Itanoní

Discover Itanoní in Oaxaca, Mexico: In a quiet residential neighborhood, one restaurant fights to preserve heirloom corn, one tortilla at a time.

Halldórsskora (Elephant Rock)

Discover Halldórsskora (Elephant Rock) in Iceland: On an island south of Iceland, a large volcanic rock formation resembles an elephant.

“The Yearling”

Discover "The Yearling" in Denver, Colorado: A Rocky Mountain city provides a happy ending for a pinto pony and his Brobdingnagian red chair.

Abandoned Resort

Discover Abandoned Resort in Kaédi, Mauritania: The beehive-like buildings of this abandoned resort reside near the border of Mauritania and Senegal.

Mount Bonnell

Discover Mount Bonnell in Austin, Texas: Austin’s local mountain isn’t really a mountain at all.

Romitorio di Sant’Angelo in Lacu

Discover Romitorio di Sant'Angelo in Lacu in Albano Laziale, Italy: The ruins of a thousand-year-old hermitage are tucked away deep in the sloping forests of Albano Lake.

Mumiengrotte (Mummy’s Cave)

Discover Mumiengrotte (Mummy's Cave) in Flensburg, Germany: Located in the middle of public park, this cave built in the early19th century houses an ancient stone sarcophagus.

William Oates Sykes Grave

Discover William Oates Sykes Grave in Horbury, England: This unusual gravestone was crafted for cricket lover and master bat maker William Oates Sykes.

Equus Altus

Discover Equus Altus in Leeds, England: The name of this suspended sculpture is Latin for "high horse," which is exactly what it is.

Little Nemecsek Statue

Discover Little Nemecsek Statue in Budapest, Hungary: This statue honors one of Budapest's most beloved literary characters.

Amphitheater of Durrës

Discover Amphitheater of Durrës in Durrës, Albania: The largest Roman amphitheater in the Balkans once held over 20,000 people, but managed to lay hidden for hundreds of years.

‘Giganticus Headicus’

Discover 'Giganticus Headicus' in Kingman, Arizona: A tribute to the statues of Easter Island along Route 66.

Gatbawi Rock

Discover Gatbawi Rock in Gyeongsan-si, South Korea: According to legend, those who pray at this statue will also be granted a wish.

El Cóporo

Discover El Cóporo in San José del Torreón, Mexico: Built 1,500 years ago, this abandoned Mesoamerican city is surrounded by a natural wall made of outstanding rock formations.

Old City Wall of Berlin

Discover Old City Wall of Berlin in Berlin, Germany: The last remnants of a massive medieval wall that once encompassed the city of Berlin.

Exploding Whale Memorial Park

Discover Exploding Whale Memorial Park in Florence, Oregon: Fifty years after a “blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds,” this idyllic natural area commemorates the carnage.

Three Kings Catacombs

Discover Three Kings Catacombs in Tizimín, Mexico: A sprawling network of century-old subterranean catacombs lies beneath a nondescript suburban home.

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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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