Archives: Atlas Obscuras

South Lawn Car Park

Discover South Lawn Car Park in Melbourne, Australia: A unique underground car park that has become a popular filming location.

Dragonfly Trail Petroglyphs

Discover Dragonfly Trail Petroglyphs in Silver City, New Mexico: Hidden in the Chihuahuan Desert resides an amazing collection of petroglyphs.

Kings Norton Stop Lock

Discover Kings Norton Stop Lock in Kings Norton, England: This ingenious engineering solution was built to stop the "theft" of canal water.

The Wooden Man

Discover The Wooden Man in Kværndrup, Denmark: Generations have refused to move this doll from its dusty resting place to preserve a castle from a watery fate.

The Lemp Family Tomb

Discover The Lemp Family Tomb in St. Louis, Missouri: This mausoleum is the final resting place of one of St. Louis's richest and most tragic families.

Nagaoka Hyakuana Burial Mound

Discover Nagaoka Hyakuana Burial Mound in Utsunomiya, Japan: This ancient burial cave along a roadside is also home to several Buddhist sculptures.

The Bridge of Oich

Discover The Bridge of Oich in Highland, Scotland: A double cantilever system bridge that was designed to prevent flood damage.

Kalambo Falls

Discover Kalambo Falls in Zambia: This stunning waterfall is the backdrop to a site that has seen continuous human habitation for 250,000 years.

Casa dei Crescenzi

Discover Casa dei Crescenzi in Rome, Italy: A rare example of a medieval house in Rome adorned with a melancholic inscription.

Dublin Writers Museum

Discover Dublin Writers Museum in Dublin, Ireland: This museum is dedicated to the most famous Irish writers in history.

‘A Drama in Time’

Discover 'A Drama in Time' in Edinburgh, Scotland: Neon artworks light up this dark Edinburgh tunnel.

Boelson Cottage

Discover Boelson Cottage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: This tiny cottage surrounded by railroads is the oldest surviving structure in Fairmount Park.

Jarjeer Mule And Donkey Refuge

Discover Jarjeer Mule And Donkey Refuge in Marrakesh, Morocco: This sanctuary is home to donkeys who finally get to rest after a life of toil.

Abandoned Badbea

Discover Abandoned Badbea in Highland, Scotland: An abandoned village where the ruined foundations cling to a cliff.

Truck-Eating Bridge

Discover Truck-Eating Bridge in Kirkland, Washington: A normal, unassuming pedestrian overpass has been the demise of many, many trucks.

Prometheus Esoterica

Discover Prometheus Esoterica in Winter Park, Florida: Hidden in the back of this quaint vintage store is an amazing little oddities shop.

Copper Crow Distillery

Discover Copper Crow Distillery in Bayfield, Wisconsin: Sip whey-based vodka at the first Native-owned distillery opened on a reservation in centuries.

The Demon of Palazzo Salina

Discover The Demon of Palazzo Salina in Bologna, Italy: This building features dozens of faces along its facade, although one is a bit chilling.

Penascosa Petroglyph

Discover Penascosa Petroglyph in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal: These rock drawings in the Côa Valley also create an ancient optical illusion.

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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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