Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Mycenae

Discover Mycenae in Argolis, Greece: This legendary city has been a tourist attraction for centuries.

Tourlitis Lighthouse

Discover Tourlitis Lighthouse in Andros, Greece: Perched on a spindly rock spire in a Greek archipelago, this lighthouse would make a perfect wizard's tower.

The Athenian Agora

Discover The Athenian Agora in Athens, Greece: This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

Navagio Beach

Discover Navagio Beach in Zakinthos, Greece: Hidden in a secluded Greek cove is a pristine beach marred only by the rusting smuggler's hulk stranded on its shores.

Antikythera Mechanism

Discover Antikythera Mechanism in Athens, Greece: A 2,000-year-old computer demonstrates remarkable engineering and astronomical precision.

Sami

Discover Sami in Greece: A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

Meteora

Discover Meteora in Kalabaka, Greece: Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

The Oracle of Delphi

Discover The Oracle of Delphi in Greece: The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

‘Shift’ by Richard Serra

Discover 'Shift' by Richard Serra in King City, Ontario: A unique piece by one of the most famous sculptors of the 20th century is rotting away in a small Ontario town.

Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum

Discover Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum in Lindsay, Ontario: Named in tribute to Canadian singer and songwriter Neil Young.

L’ Extra-Terrasse

Discover L' Extra-Terrasse in Saint-Simon, Québec: For a brief moment, the world was given a flicker of the future of fast food, thanks to a visionary inventor.

Edwardstown Anglican Church

Discover Edwardstown Anglican Church in Saint-Chrysostome, Québec: With the chapel itself being left to moulder, the cemetery of this abandoned church might be the freshest part.

Home of A Thousand Faces

Discover Home of A Thousand Faces in Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia: Outsider art meets hard scrabble mountain life in this woodcarver's home/art piece.

Fuchs Wildlife Exhibit

Discover Fuchs Wildlife Exhibit in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan: This Canadian exhibit with claims as the largest one man taxidermy collection in North America.

Large Zenith Telescope

Discover Large Zenith Telescope in Maple Ridge, British Columbia: A large spinning bath of liquid mercury, used to probe the early universe.

Weyburn Mental Hospital

Discover Weyburn Mental Hospital in Weyburn, Saskatchewan: This notorious Canadian mental institution was home to some of the first LSD experiments and origin of the word "psychedelic.".

The Hemloft

Discover The Hemloft in Whistler, British Columbia: This egg-shaped treehouse was inspired by "sport sleeping.".

Wallingford-Back Mine

Discover Wallingford-Back Mine in Mulgrave-et-Derry, Québec: What was once the largest mine in North America has left behind a hollow hill filled with bright blue waters.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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