Archives: Atlas Obscuras

African Heritage House

Discover African Heritage House in Mlolongo, Kenya: This beautiful, all-in-one museum, private residence, and bed and breakfast houses a rich collection of African art.

Wheeler Geologic Area

Discover Wheeler Geologic Area in Creede, Colorado: This once-popular otherwordly landscape was formed by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history.

Zeniarai Benten Shrine

Discover Zeniarai Benten Shrine in Kamakura, Japan: It is said that coins washed in the waters here will miraculously multiply.

Amandine Museum Ship

Discover Amandine Museum Ship in Ostend, Belgium: The last Oostende trawler to fish off Iceland is now a museum.

Calabacillas Arroyo Artificial Fossils

Discover Calabacillas Arroyo Artificial Fossils in Albuquerque, New Mexico: From a T-rex to a teapot, a cast of artificial fossils illustrates New Mexico's history.

Seashell Gallery

Discover Seashell Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal: In the Monastery of São Vicente resides a gallery devoted to a breathtaking collection of seashells.

St. Petersburg Post Office

Discover St. Petersburg Post Office in St. Petersburg, Florida: A creative deviation in this post office's design was once a source of controversy.

Caldara di Manziana

Discover Caldara di Manziana in Manziana, Italy: This caldera was once associated with the Etruscan god of the underworld.

Cedar Bluff Reservoir

Discover Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Ransom, Kansas: This 100-foot tall bluff located in the western plains of Kansas overlooks a massive reservoir.

The Zwinger Gardens

Discover The Zwinger Gardens in Olomouc, Czechia: Once home to artillery, this garden offers more peace today than it did during its war-torn past.

Whalers Cabin Museum

Discover Whalers Cabin Museum in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: This cabin from the 1850s is one of the first structures built by Chinese immigrants in California.

Edward Payson Roe Memorial Park

Discover Edward Payson Roe Memorial Park in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: A plaque on a rock dedicated to a famous, forgotten author, and put in an impossible place.

Sons and Daughters of Deucalion and Pyrrha

Discover Sons and Daughters of Deucalion and Pyrrha in Urbana, Illinois: Fragments of a massive unfinished sculpture sit near the main quad of the University of Illinois.

Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse)

Discover Faro della Vittoria (Victory Lighthouse) in Trieste, Italy: One of the tallest lighthouses in the world also serves as a monument to the fallen of World War I.

Slave Market Memorial

Discover Slave Market Memorial in Zanzibar, Tanzania: This monument is a stark reminder of the horrors of the Zanzibar slave trade.

Pleasley Pit

Discover Pleasley Pit in Pleasley, England: This park and coal mine heritage site is home to two of the last steam winding engines in the UK.

Leith Mural

Discover Leith Mural in Edinburgh, Scotland: A multi-storied painting that depicts the area's rich and diverse maritime history.

Sơn Mỹ Memorial

Discover Sơn Mỹ Memorial in Quảng Ngãi, Vietnam: A memorial dedicated to the victims of the My Lai Massacre.

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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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