Archives: Atlas Obscuras

New England Holocaust Memorial

Discover New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts: Millions of numbers carved in glass represent the tattoos forced upon victims.

Newhaven Fort

Discover Newhaven Fort in Newhaven, England: A Victorian Fort built into the chalky cliffs that overlook the English Channel.

Dinosaur Garden

Discover Dinosaur Garden in Nicholls, Australia: Outside the National Dinosaur Museum, dozens of dinosaur statues and sculptures claim the landscape.

Gobelins Tapestry Factory

Discover Gobelins Tapestry Factory in Paris, France: This facility has manufactured stunning tapestries for France's royalty ever since the 17th century.

Thurgoland Tunnel

Discover Thurgoland Tunnel in Thurgoland, England: A repurposed railway tunnel with otherworldly acoustic characteristics.

Redpath Sugar Refinery Museum

Discover Redpath Sugar Refinery Museum in Toronto, Ontario: In the back of a bustling factory lurks a quiet museum honoring the history of Canadian sugar manufacturing.

The Room of Lost Things

Discover The Room of Lost Things in Denver, Colorado: A store that specializes in all things odd and macabre.

Walled Landscape of Grates Cove

Discover Walled Landscape of Grates Cove in Grates Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador: The stone barriers in this historic fishing village were once used for farming and gardening.

Grasshopper’s Dream Cafe

Discover Grasshopper's Dream Cafe in Jeongseon, South Korea: Along a rail-biking route, giant insects house a two-story restaurant.

José Luis Cuevas Museum

Discover José Luis Cuevas Museum in Mexico City, Mexico: Its most enigmatic sculpture is a giantess with a ghostly face on her knee.

Frankfort Marine Gateway

Discover Frankfort Marine Gateway in Frankfort, Michigan: The structure has welcomed visitors to this scenic harbor city on Lake Michigan for many decades.

Coca-Cola Secret Formula Vault

Discover Coca-Cola Secret Formula Vault in Atlanta, Georgia: One of corporate America's best-kept secrets is also one of the most publicly displayed.

Victoria & Albert Museum Dining Rooms

Discover Victoria & Albert Museum Dining Rooms in London, England: Revel in the Victorian splendor of the world's oldest eating establishment inside a museum.

The Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache

Discover Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache (Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache) in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: You can swim in these highly salty, mesmerizingly blue lakes in the Atacama Desert.

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

PP ToS