Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Big Nickel

Discover Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario: Possibly the world's largest coin stands just outside of a Canadian science center.

Mount Carleton

Discover Mount Carleton in Northesk, New Brunswick: New Brunswick's tallest mountain is the highest point in all the Maritimes.

Cape Forchu Lighthouse

Discover Cape Forchu Lighthouse in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia: The first "applecore" style lighthouse in Nova Scotia.

Central Experimental Farm

Discover Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Ontario: A sprawling Victorian farm that has been surrounded by a capital city is one of Canada's greatest treasures.

Paddlewheel Graveyard

Discover Paddlewheel Graveyard in Dawson City, Yukon: A skeletal collection of former nautical mainstays.

Wawa Goose

Discover Wawa Goose in Wawa, Ontario: This giant roadside goose has been hailing travelers into a small Ontario town for over 50 years.

Old Pinawa Dam

Discover Old Pinawa Dam in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba: The ruined remains of an early hydroelectric dam.

Canadian Canoe Museum

Discover Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario: The largest canoe collection in the world—and the most Canadian museum ever.

Marconi National Historic Site

Discover Marconi National Historic Site in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia: Site of the first official transatlantic wireless communications.

Patricia Hotel and Water Hole

Discover Patricia Hotel and Water Hole in Patricia, Alberta: Kitschy steak joint where customers can cook their own meat over an eternal flame.

The World’s Largest Sausage

Discover The World's Largest Sausage in Mundare, Alberta: Massive kielbasa stands 42 feet tall and weighs in at 12,000 pounds.

Nova Scotia’s Cow Bay Moose

Discover Cow Bay Moose in Cow Bay, Nova Scotia: This huge 12-foot concrete moose on the coast of Nova Scotia is the grandest of the sculptor's giant creatures.

Insulator Ranch

Discover Insulator Ranch in Quilchena, British Columbia: A colorful collection of scavenged glass bells decorates this Canadian ranch.

The Burmis Tree

Discover The Burmis Tree in Bellevue, Alberta: Despite being dead since the 1970s, this Canadian tree is kept upright and intact by adoring locals.

Port Dover Harbour Museum

Discover Port Dover Harbour Museum in Port Dover, Ontario: A small museum houses a long, rich history of life and death on Lake Erie — from famous shipwrecks to rum smugglers.

The Eye of the Wind

Discover The Eye of the Wind in North Vancouver, British Columbia: The mountaintop wind turbine boasts a viewing deck — and a fair share of controversy.

New Iceland

Discover New Iceland in Gimli, Manitoba: Icelandic settlement in Manitoba established in 1875.

Paperclip Cottage Cafe

Discover Paperclip Cottage Cafe in Kipling, Saskatchewan: A cozy cafe tells the remarkable story of how one man started with a little red paperclip and wound up with an entire house.

Hanlan’s Corner Cemetery

Discover Hanlan's Corner Cemetery in Mississauga, Ontario: A Victorian cemetery hidden along a trucking route is all that remains of a 19th century village.

Sleeping Giant

Discover Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay, Ontario: Profile of a sleeping person 4km long in 250m high cliffs.

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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