Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Glastonbury Tor

Discover Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, England: This hill and tower are steeped in legend, from King Arthur to the Holy Grail.

Yawata no Yabushirazu

Discover Yawata no Yabushirazu in Ichikawa, Japan: Nestled in an unassuming residential area, this "forbidden forest" is rumored to spirit away those who dare to enter.

Fort Nelson Heritage Museum

Discover Fort Nelson Heritage Museum in Fort Nelson, British Columbia: Home to vintage vehicles and local artifacts, this museum also houses a rare taxidermy specimen.

Limhamn Limestone Quarry

Discover Limhamn Limestone Quarry in Malmö, Sweden: This quarry filled with 65 million-year-old limestone is now home to a nature reserve.

Mito Daiich High School

Discover Mito Daiich High School in Mito, Japan: An old-fashioned school with interesting grounds and deep history, including the original Mito Castle gate.

Clydeside Expressway Mural Wall

Discover Clydeside Expressway Mural Wall in Glasgow, Scotland: Vibrant paintings stretch across 600 feet of derelict railway.

Sani Pass

Discover Sani Pass in Mkhomazi Wilderness area, South Africa: Brace yourself for the slowest, scariest, most spectacular drive, down the Drakensberg Escarpment.

Madama Lucrezia

Discover Madama Lucrezia in Rome, Italy: This statue is the only female representation of Rome's "talking statues.".

Gravesend

Discover Gravesend in Brooklyn, New York: Nearly four centuries after its founding, remnants of one of the oldest planned communities in North America are still visible in southern Brooklyn.

Through the Flower Art Space

Discover Through the Flower Art Space in Belen, New Mexico: A home base for Judy Chicago, one of America's leading radical feminist artists.

Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos

Discover Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos in Ranua, Finland: This bed and breakfast is steeped in history and offers guests a unique way to experience nature—glass igloos on a frozen lake.

The Lion of Chaeronea

Discover The Lion of Chaeronea in Greece: Τhis feline monument commemorates fallen soldiers on a field that saw many, many battles.

Montevergine Sanctuary

Discover Montevergine Sanctuary in Mercogliano, Italy: During World War II, the Shroud of Turin was secreted to this remote southern Italian complex.

Lake Thetis

Discover Lake Thetis in Cervantes, Australia: One of the few places in the world home to living stromatolites.

Cedarcrest Hospital

Discover Cedarcrest Hospital in Newington, Connecticut: An overgrown and abandoned tuberculosis ward resides in the midst of a quaint modern neighborhood.

Forbes Mausoleum

Discover Forbes Mausoleum in Falkirk, Scotland: This abandoned mausoleum from 1815 sits deep within the forest surrounding Callendar House.

Everest’s Grave

Discover Everest's Grave in Hove, England: An unassuming churchyard is the resting place of a pioneering surveyor and reluctant namesake of a mountain.

Wado Ruins

Discover Wado Ruins in Chichibu, Japan: The birthplace of Japanese coinage.

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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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