Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Red Oak II

Discover Red Oak II in Carthage, Missouri: When he found his hometown was no more, Lowell Davis decided to recreate a "new" ghost town from scratch.

Fry Bread House

Discover Fry Bread House in Phoenix, Arizona: Founded by members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, this one-room joint's James Beard–winning fry bread is light as a cloud.

Sate & Sake

Discover Sate & Sake in Turin, Italy: The only Malaysian food truck in Italy slings tangy chicken satay that even Italians love.

Chee Dale Stepping Stones

Discover Chee Dale Stepping Stones in Buxton, England: These unique stepping stones hug a river's edge to take hikers on a journey through a limestone gorge.

Bangor Police Museum

Discover Bangor Police Museum in Bangor, Maine: This museum explores the history of policing and is also home to a very popular taxidermied duck.

Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Museum

Discover Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Pipe Museum in Washington, Missouri: This museum located in the "Corn Cob Pipe Capital of the World," chronicles the history of cob pipe.

Amsterdam Ordnance Datum

Discover Normaal Amsterdams Peil (Amsterdam Ordnance Datum) in Amsterdam, Netherlands: Europe's official "zero-level," the equator of elevation.

Monument to Yuri Gagarin

Discover Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Moscow, Russia: This massive monument honors the first human in space.

Camino Real Sumiya

Discover Camino Real Sumiya in Jiutepec, Mexico: The tragic heiress Barbara Woolworth Hutton built her seventh husband this Japanese-inspired palace in Mexico.

Creemore Jail

Discover Creemore Jail in Creemore, Ontario: Reputedly the smallest jail in North America.

Gavez Klub

Discover Gavez Klub in Belgrade, Serbia: Tucked in an urban forest, this restaurant specializes in homemade, healing rakijas.

Charcuterie

Discover Charcuterie in Unity, Maine: After giving up Michelin glamour for his Amish faith, one chef now makes stellar sausages in a small, off-the-grid shop.

Tomb of Hernán Cortés

Discover Tomb of Hernán Cortés in Mexico City, Mexico: Hidden for more than a century, the grave of the Conquistador remains forgotten behind these church walls.

The Lanchester Diploma

Discover The Lanchester Diploma in Durham, England: The 2,000-year-old pieces of metal are an ancient soldier's military discharge papers.

Cemitério da Consolação

Discover Cemitério da Consolação in São Paulo, Brazil: This necropolis is home to eclectic funerary art and is the final resting place for much of the city's nobility.

Oratory of San Pellegrino

Discover Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco, Italy: This medieval oratory decorated in magnificent frescos was constructed after Charlemagne received a vision.

Palace Diner

Discover Palace Diner in Biddeford, Maine: Maine's oldest diner also happens to win acclaim for its elevated comfort food.

Menu

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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