Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Garden of the Gods

Discover Garden of the Gods in Mountain Township, Illinois: In the Shawnee National Forest, amazing rock formations peer through the treeline.

Fort of San José el Alto

Discover Fort of San José el Alto in Campeche, Mexico: Half-hidden by grassy slopes, this striking Spanish colonial fort is now a museum of underwater archaeology.

Grave of Thomas Bullitt

Discover Grave of Thomas Bullitt in Charleston, West Virginia: A lone grave is quietly tucked away in Kanawha Riflemen's Memorial Park.

The Samurai of Brno

Discover The Samurai of Brno in Brno-st?ed, Czechia: A peculiar samurai statue overlooks the center of Brno.

High Point Restaurant (RyeMabee Mansion)

Discover High Point Restaurant (RyeMabee Mansion) in Monteagle, Tennessee: This mansion turned restaurant was once a pitstop for Al Capone during his travels.

St. Victor Petroglyphs

Discover St. Victor Petroglyphs in Saint Victor, Saskatchewan: An outcropping plays host to the largest collection of pre-contact petroglyphs in Saskatchewan.

Cartier Avenue’s Giant Lampshades

Discover Cartier Avenue's Giant Lampshades in Québec City, Québec: The floating gallery illuminates the heart of Québec City's arts district.

Abandoned Redbird

Discover Abandoned Redbird in Queens, New York: A retired subway car stands alone in a field in the middle of Queens.

Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History

Discover Fakenham Museum of Gas and Local History in Fakenham, England: The last gas works in England and Wales details how people once extracted the resource from coal.

Kanaio Coast

Discover Kanaio Coast in Wailea-Makena, Hawaii: A cooled lava flow from the Haleakalā volcano formed these surreal-looking columnar basalt structures.

Albert Memorial Clock

Discover Albert Memorial Clock in Belfast, Northern Ireland: This massive monument has been telling the time for 150 years—at a slight angle.

Queen Adelaide Restaurant

Discover Queen Adelaide Restaurant in Keswick, Australia: Dine aboard the historic Ghan train while retracing early explorers' journey through the Outback.

Zrinjevac Meteorological Column

Discover Zrinjevac Meteorological Column in Zagreb, Croatia: This 135-year-old weather station studied the effects of the climate on human health.

Singel 7

Discover Singel 7 in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The world's narrowest house facade is also a monument to 17th-century tax evasion.

Casa ITESO Clavigero

Discover Casa ITESO Clavigero in Guadalajara, Mexico: This singular Mexican structure is considered a masterpiece of the Tapatía architectural school.

Oficina Museu (Workshop Museum)

Discover Oficina Museu (Workshop Museum) in São Miguel, Portugal: One artist's collection of homemade handicrafts doubles as a monument to 20th-century material culture.

Retro Pop Shop

Discover Retro Pop Shop in Lee, Massachusetts: Journey through vintage Americana inside this small Massachusetts shop.

‘Polaris’

Discover 'Polaris' in Fairbanks, Alaska: The sculpture's largest spire points directly toward the North Star.

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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

PP ToS