Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Winnemucca to the Sea Highway Marker

Discover Winnemucca to the Sea Highway Marker in Winnemucca, Nevada: This giant slab of driftwood marks the beginning of the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House and Farmyard

Discover Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House and Farmyard in Hawthorne, Florida: This impeccably preserved farmstead is a time capsule of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist's life.

Alexander Inn

Discover Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: This hotel was used during the Manhattan Project to house official visitors.

Jusanji Pond

Discover Jusanji Pond in Cheongsong, South Korea: Trees emerge from the surface of this small man-made reservoir.

McAuliffe Memorial and Sherman Tank

Discover McAuliffe Memorial and Sherman Tank in Bastogne, Belgium: Dedicated to the American general whose reply to a German demand for surrender was simply "Nuts!".

Mount Argopuro

Discover Mount Argopuro in Krucil, Indonesia: The longest hiking route on the island of Java leads to this inactive volcano.

Uggleviksreservoaren

Discover Uggleviksreservoaren in Stockholm, Sweden: This poured-concrete water reservoir is a gem of modernist architecture well-hidden in a city forest.

Ponte 516 Arouca

Suspended more than 500 feet above a river in Portugal, Ponte 516 Arouca has been described as "frighteningly beautiful."

Gunung Bromo

Discover Gunung Bromo in Tosari, Indonesia: Of five volcanoes located in the massive Tengger caldera, this cone is the youngest and most active.

Pan Am Flight 812 Memorial

Discover Pan Am Flight 812 Memorial in Denpasar, Indonesia: A lonely memorial to the 107 victims of Pan Am Flight 812, which crashed in Bali in 1974.

The Sacramento Cannon Monument

Discover The Sacramento Cannon Monument in Gqeberha, South Africa: Artillery recovered from the sea floor marks the spot of an extraordinary shipwreck.

Independence Mine

Discover Independence Mine in Palmer, Alaska: This abandoned mine offers a glimpse at what life was like for those who came to Alaska seeking Gold Rush riches.

Cannock Chase Military Training Grounds

Discover Cannock Chase Military Training Grounds in Staffordshire, England: Parts of this former military training ground may have inspired parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous fantasy series.

‘WEB FRAME’

Discover 'WEB FRAME' in Tokyo, Japan: Designed by a computer, this intricate network of fluorescent green pipes has taken over a subway station.

Jongmyo Shrine

Discover Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul, South Korea: The supreme shrine of the state.

Mayna Treanor Avent Studio

Discover Mayna Treanor Avent Studio in Gatlinburg, Tennessee: The art studio of an early 20th-century painter, hidden amid the Great Smoky Mountains.

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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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