Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Stan Galle Field

Discover Stan Galle Field in Mobile, Alabama: Believed to be the oldest active college baseball field in America.

Mt. Yashima Ropeway

Discover Mt. Yashima Ropeway in Takamatsu, Japan: Nestled amid the trees lies an abandoned funicular railway that dates back to the 1920s.

Ashalim Power Station

Discover Ashalim Power Station in Ashalim, Israel: Deep in the Negev Desert, the world's tallest solar tower looks like a sight straight out of science fiction.

Castle Rock Badlands

Discover Castle Rock Badlands in Quinter, Kansas: These otherworldly limestone formations jut out from the Kansas prairie.

Newton’s Apple Tree

Discover Newton's Apple Tree in Lund, Sweden: A living descendant of the famous tree that helped Isaac Newton develop the theory of gravity.

Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme

Discover Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme in Rubicon, Australia: One of the oldest operating hydroelectric power schemes in Australia.

Budhanilkantha

Discover Budhanilkantha in Budhanilkantha, Nepal: This representation of Lord Vishnu is the largest stone sculpture in Nepal.

Telise Marker Towers

Discover Telise Marker Towers in Telise, Estonia: These two strange cones are actually a system of old nautical navigation beacons.

Queen’s Sconce

Discover Queen's Sconce in Nottinghamshire, England: A well preserved remnant of the English Civil War.

The Caiy Stane

Discover The Caiy Stane in Edinburgh, Scotland: An ancient stone with mysterious origins stands in a residential neighborhood.

The Frog Clock

Discover The Frog Clock in Telford, England: This whimsical, unique clock has been entertaining shoppers for well over 20 years.

San Silverio Chapel

Discover San Silverio Chapel in Isola di Palmarola, Italy: This tiny chapel atop a sea stack is dedicated to the patron saint of Ponza, Saint Silverius.

The Landsort Artillery Battery

Discover The Landsort Artillery Battery in Nynäshamn S, Sweden: A southern Swedish island is home to the last ERSTA artillery battery, meant to protect the shoreline during the Cold War.

Grave of Charles Dummett

Discover Grave of Charles Dummett in New Smyrna Beach, Florida: A local road runs around a memorial to a teenager who died in 1860.

The Goblin Colony

Discover The Goblin Colony in Ponderosa, New Mexico: On the edge of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, these rock formations create an eerie landscape.

Jennie Wade House

Discover Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Home of the only civilian casualty at the Battle of Gettysburg.

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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