Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Linn County Historical Museum

Discover Linn County Historical Museum in Brownsville, Oregon: A brief journey through early 19th-century pioneer life across Linn County.

Holy Church of the Archangels

Discover Holy Church of the Archangels in Athens, Greece: This small chapel holds the mummified heart of one of the heroes of the Greek Revolution.

Tunis Medina

Discover Tunis Medina in Tunis, Tunisia: The ancient heart of Tunis is an enormous maze of narrow streets and alleyways.

Mysterious Chappaquiddick Shipwreck

Discover Mysterious Chappaquiddick Shipwreck in Edgartown, Massachusetts: The scarce remains of a sunken ship peek out from the sand on East Beach.

The Marshall House

Discover The Marshall House in Savannah, Georgia: An early-19th-century hotel with a past that steeped in the Civil War.

Pachinko World

Discover Pachinko World in Wilmington, North Carolina: The only pachinko parlor in the United States.

Fovant Badges

Discover Fovant Badges in Fovant, England: Soldiers carved these regimental badges into the chalk hills in remembrance of those who died in World War I.

Fountain Dale

Discover Fountain Dale in Nottinghamshire, England: This muddy wooded valley and the ancient structures it hides are said to be the favored haunt of the legendary Friar Tuck.

Stack Rock Fort

Discover Stack Rock Fort in Milford Haven, Wales: This 19th-century island fort built to protect against an invasion by sea.

Edgehill Polar Bears

Discover Edgehill Polar Bears in Nashville, Tennessee: For decades these polar bears have roamed all around a Nashville neighborhood.

Cascada La Mina (La Mina Falls)

Discover Cascada La Mina (La Mina Falls) in Puerto Rico: A magnificent waterfall nestled in the heart of the El Yunque National Forest.

Evergreen Cemetery

Discover Evergreen Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia: This labyrinthine resting place of Black American leaders has been reclaimed by nature.

Bijay Mandal

Discover Bijay Mandal in New Delhi, India: This ruined relic of the medieval city of Jahanpanah is a quiet oasis in the middle of New Delhi.

Spencer Roberts Room

Discover Spencer Roberts Room in Lympne, England: Its walls are adorned with exquisite murals of the natural world, transforming it into an ecologist’s Sistine Chapel.

The Accordion Man

Discover The Accordion Man in Cotati, California: A tribute to one man's legacy of improving the accordion's reputation.

Pooh Bear’s Corner

Discover Pooh Bear's Corner in Monga, Australia: A small mountain cave tucked away along Kings Highway has become a shrine to the beloved character.

Berkeley Flea Market

Discover Berkeley Flea Market in Berkeley, California: A unique market that brings together various goods and cultures.

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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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