Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands

Discover Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands in Boynton Beach, Florida: These constructed wetlands naturally filter millions of gallons of treated wastewater every day.

World’s Largest Cherry Pie Tin

Discover World's Largest Cherry Pie Tin in Traverse City, Michigan: An enormous roadside pan tells the story of a battle for pie glory.

The Jade Coast

Discover The Jade Coast in Itoigawa, Japan: You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

Cappella di San Giovanni

Discover Cappella di San Giovanni in Bozen, Italy: Inspired by the more famous Scrovegni Chapel, Cappella di San Giovanni contains several amazing frescoes.

Prizm Outlets

Discover Prizm Outlets in Primm, Nevada: This former shopping outlet is now adorned with beautiful graffiti and murals.

Shrine of the Blessed Mother

Discover Shrine of the Blessed Mother in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: This shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary is also a tribute from a mother to her fallen son.

Atumashi Monastery

Discover Atumashi Monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma): This Buddhist monastery once housed an image of Buddha containing a 19-carat diamond.

Site of the Dongan Oak

Discover Site of the Dongan Oak in Brooklyn, New York: The site of a fallen tree that protected Americans from British forces during the American Revolution.

‘The Thief’

Discover 'The Thief' in Olomouc, Czechia: A cheeky reminder about the value of art dangles above one of Olomouc's busiest streets.

Desert View Conservation Area

Discover Desert View Conservation Area in Joshua Tree, California: This conservation area is also home to many of the region's desert tortoises.

Lockville Ruins

Discover Lockville Ruins in Carroll, Ohio: See the nearly two-century-old ruins of pre-railroad America at the former site of a lock on the Ohio and Erie Canal.

BallaGNOMEia

Discover BallaGNOMEia in Balladonia, Australia: Gnomes have taken over a rest stop on Australia's longest straight road.

Spitzer Castle

Discover Spitzer Castle in Beočin, Serbia: A beautiful 19th-century mansion slowly crumbled and became a 'ghost house' after World War II.

Vicus Caprarius

Discover Vicus Caprarius in Rome, Italy: A forgotten "city of water" underneath the famous Trevi district.

Terminillo’s Sword in the Stone

Discover Terminillo's Sword in the Stone in Rieti, Italy: Templar knights fleeing persecution are said to have left this sword in stone as a landmark in 1307.

Rocca Sforzesca

Discover Rocca Sforzesca in Imola, Italy: This castle was once the home of one of the most powerful women of the Renaissance.

The Cobweb Picture

Discover The Cobweb Picture in Chester, England: Chester Cathedral is home to a unique painting crafted on a canvas of cobwebs.

Musee du Compagnonnage

Discover Musee du Compagnonnage in Tours, France: This museum preserves over-the-top masterpieces that once qualified artisans for membership into a medieval guild.

Mummified Bison

Discover Mummified Bison in Washington, D.C.: The 28,000-year-old specimen is remarkably intact.

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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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