Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Luoshan Organic Tofu Farm

Discover Luoshan Organic Tofu Farm in Fuli Township, Taiwan: Learn to make this village's specialty: volcanic mud tofu.

Dacha Stalina

Discover Dacha Stalina in Sochi, Russia: One of the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's many summer retreats.

Stanhope Fossil Tree

Discover Stanhope Fossil Tree in Stanhope, England: This sandstone tree trunk is a relic from a long-past era when England had a more tropical climate.

Tiwai Island

Discover Tiwai Island in Sierra Leone: This river island in Sierra Leone is home to impressive biodiversity and the country's first community conservation program.

Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial

Discover Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial in Montpelier, Vermont: A lonely memorial to the Challenger Space Shuttle, honoring the astronauts who died in 1986.

Garðar Cathedral Ruins

Discover Garðar Cathedral Ruins in Igaliku, Greenland: Walrus skulls and narwhal bones were found here while excavating a 900-year old church.

Kuntsevo Dacha (Stalin Residence)

Discover Kuntsevo Dacha (Stalin Residence) in Sochi, Russia: The historic summer cottage of notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Seonjeongneung

Discover Seonjeongneung in Seoul, South Korea: The burial ground of two kings and a queen is now a calm city park in the middle of bustling Seoul.

Chamber of the Giants

Discover Sala dei Giganti (Chamber of the Giants) in Mantua, Italy: A room filled with frescos that make it seem like the walls are crumbling down while giants die in despair.

Wongaksa Pagoda

Discover Wongaksa Pagoda in Seoul, South Korea: This pagoda was once the central feature of a Buddhist temple that no longer exists.

The Steppes Sculptures

Discover The Steppes Sculptures in Steppes, Australia: These bronze sculptures can be found in an isolated patch of bush in Tasmania’s highlands.

Civic Pharmacy Sign

Discover Civic Pharmacy Sign in Ottawa, Ontario: This illuminated sign was the first of its kind in Canada and remains a vestige of the Atomic Age.

‘Oma maa mansikka’

Discover 'Oma maa mansikka' in Helsinki, Finland: This ten-ton fruit sculpture celebrates the Finland homeland.

Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

Discover Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain in Seoul, South Korea: The world's longest bridge fountain has hundreds of nozzles that create a beautiful, illuminated spectacle.

Masjid Putra (Putra Mosque)

Discover Masjid Putra (Putra Mosque) in Putrajaya, Malaysia: Next to the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office stands this rose-colored mosque.

Walt Kelly Studio

Discover Walt Kelly Studio in Waycross, Georgia: The Okefenokee Swamp houses this "incredibobble" tribute to the creator of America’s favorite cartoon possum.

Headless Horseman Bridge

Discover Headless Horseman Bridge in Sleepy Hollow, New York: The real-life site of Ichabod Crane's infamous gourd attack.

Epiphyte Tree

Discover Epiphyte Tree in Mansfield, Connecticut: An artificial tree in the University of Connecticut greenhouses holds a collection of orchids, mosses, and other tropical epiphytic plants.

Borgata Maison

Discover Borgata Maison in Noasca, Italy: A schoolhouse and chapel are all that remains of this alpine village.

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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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