Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Whale of Zena Valley

Discover La Balena della Val di Zena in Pianoro, Italy: A great white whale sculpture now sits in the location where the remains of a prehistoric cetacean were found.

1912 Herschell-Spillman Carousel

Discover 1912 Herschell-Spillman Carousel in Ocean City, Maryland: One of the oldest active carousels in the country—but it might be missed by all but the keenest-eyed boardwalk strollers.

Saint John Maroon Church

Discover Saint John Maroon Church in Freetown, Sierra Leone: One of the most important Krio heritage sites in the country.

Gloucester Waterways Museum

Discover Gloucester Waterways Museum in Gloucester, England: This fantastic museum honors Gloucester waterway heritage.

Art & History Museums of Maitland

Discover Art & History Museums of Maitland in Maitland, Florida: This historical art colony is adorned with thousands of hand-carved concrete sculptures in the Mayan Revival style.

The Bastion & Thieves Pot

Discover The Bastion & Thieves Pot in Stirling, Scotland: Hidden in this modern shopping center is a relic of 16th-century capital punishment.

Prairie Observatory

Discover Prairie Observatory in Oakland, Illinois: An abandoned observatory in the middle of the Illinois prairie.

Giant Lady’s Leg Sundial

Discover Giant Lady's Leg Sundial in Lake Village, Indiana: A unique outdoor timepiece at a "clothing-optional" resort.

Esztergomi szénrakodó

Discover Esztergomi szénrakodó in Esztergom, Hungary: An abandoned cable car station located on the Danube stands like a haunted house above the river.

Seaham Hall Beach

Discover Seaham Hall Beach in Seaham, England: For decades, a bottle factory dumped their waste into these waters—now it's considered the best sea glass beach in England.

Texas Broadcast Museum

Discover Texas Broadcast Museum in Kilgore, Texas: A collection of obscure and vintage equipment used for television, film, and radio.

North Toronto Station

Discover North Toronto Station in Toronto, Ontario: A former Canadian Pacific Railway station turned liquor store, the first and only station in Canada visited by British royalty.

De Salis Cemetery

Discover De Salis Cemetery in Tharwa, Australia: A rare and unique 19th-century pastoral burial site elevated off the ground.

Tunnels of Claudius

Discover Tunnels of Claudius in Avezzano, Italy: This Roman underground canal was the longest tunnel ever built until the late 19th-century.

West Highland Way Mural

Discover West Highland Way Mural in Glasgow, Scotland: This mural condenses 96 miles of one of Scotland's best-known trails into a unique art display.

Latimer’s Landing

Discover Latimer's Landing in East London, South Africa: The spot where the first living specimen of the coelacanth was discovered.

Story City Carousel

Discover Story City Carousel in Story City, Iowa: This hand-carved wooden carousel in the Story City North Park was built in 1913.

Tower of Silence

Discover Tower of Silence in Aden, Yemen: The remains of a Zoroastrian temple that bore witness to a time when Aden was a flourishing trading hub.

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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