Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Grave of Silas Soule

Discover The Grave of Silas Soule in Denver, Colorado: In a dry, neglected cemetery lies the unassuming grave of a soldier vilified in life but celebrated in death.

Chugwater Soda Fountain

Discover Chugwater Soda Fountain in Chugwater, Wyoming: A small Wyoming town is home to the state's oldest-operating soda fountain.

Dearfield Ghost Town

Discover Dearfield Ghost Town in Orchard, Colorado: In the early 1900s, hundreds of Black Americans found opportunity in this now-abandoned rural community.

Atrani

Discover Atrani in Atrani, Italy: This seaside Italian village doesn't just look Escher-esque, it actually inspired the mind-bending artist.

The Walt Disney Family Museum

Discover The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California: Inside this museum, the history of the Walt Disney Family empire is on full display.

Balm Well

Discover Balm Well in Edinburgh, Scotland: The healing properties of this well attracted royals and commoners throughout the Middle Ages.

Ralph Carr Memorial, Sakura Square

Discover Ralph Carr Memorial, Sakura Square in Denver, Colorado: In a small Japanese garden off a busy Denver street, a memorial to a brave, principled politician.

Galata House Restaurant

Discover Galata House Restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey: Housed in an old British jail, this spot serves up Georgian, Russian, and Ukrainian specialities with a side of Turkish history.

Valle delle Ferriere

Discover Valle delle Ferriere in Province of Salerno, Italy: Amalfi's pre-industrial history is slowly being engulfed by the lush vegetation of the Ferriere Valley.

Les Roches Peintes

Discover Les Roches Peintes in Aoussift, Morocco: In this desolate valley resides a gorgeous set of rocks sporting a technicolor design.

Sirenas de Segovia

Discover Sirenas de Segovia in Segovia, Spain: These "mermaids" that surround a plaza in Segovia are rather sphinx-like.

Springkällan (The Spring)

Discover Springkällan (The Spring) in Rättvik V, Sweden: An oil drilling mistake created this fountain that has been spraying water for over 150 years.

AvtoVAZ Museum

Discover AvtoVAZ Museum in Tolyatti, Russia: A collection of iconic Soviet car models on display.

George Bush Statue

Discover George Bush Statue in Fushë Kruje, Albania: In this town's main square resides a statue of none other than the 43rd President of the United States.

Taconic Mountain Ramble Zen Gardens

Discover Taconic Mountain Ramble Zen Gardens in Castleton, Vermont: This magnificent Japanese garden provides a moment of Zen in rural Vermont.

Barkin’ Springs

Discover Barkin' Springs in Austin, Texas: A free, canine-friendly alternative watering hole near the more famous Barton Springs.

El Palmar de Troya

Discover El Palmar de Troya in Utrera, Spain: The cathedral of a controversial, conservative, schismatic sect that declared the Catholic Church heretical and founded its own succession of popes.

Booked Up

Discover Booked Up in Archer City, Texas: A massive collection of rare and antique books in a tiny ranching community in northern Texas.

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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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