Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Brockville Tunnel

Discover Brockville Tunnel in Brockville, Ontario: Canada's oldest railway tunnel is illuminated in a rainbow of color as it passes under the streets of this small city.

Niagara Falls Floral Clock

Discover Niagara Falls Floral Clock in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: This impressive working clock made of 16,000 plants changes its flowers twice a year.

Dekhistan Ruins

Discover Dekhistan Ruins in Turkmenistan: The remains of a medieval city loom in one of the most isolated desert regions of Turkmenistan.

Red Mountain

Discover Red Mountain in Flagstaff, Arizona: The eroded core of an ancient volcano is now accessible by a short hike.

Medieval Aqueduct of Biar

Discover Medieval Aqueduct of Biar in Biar, Spain: This 15th-century aqueduct with distinctive pointed arches was used for irrigation in the Vinalopó valley.

Panteón Inglés

Discover Panteón Inglés in Mineral del Monte, Mexico: The English graveyard of Mineral del Monte, a magical little piece of Cornwall in Mexico.

Graylyn Estate

Discover Graylyn Estate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina: This stunning home looks like it belongs in medieval Europe, not North Carolina.

Toy Autogyro Sculpture

Discover Toy Autogyro Sculpture in Ibi, Spain: This fantastic sculpture of an early model helicopter celebrates the local toy industry.

Mummies of Museo de las Animas

Discover Mummies of Museo de las Animas in Encarnación de Díaz, Mexico: An impressive if morbid collection of mummified remains from different eras of the region's history.

Domžale Straw Hat Museum

Discover Domžale Straw Hat Museum in Domžale, Slovenia: A wonderful museum dedicated to the local straw hat industry.

Bluestockings Bookstore

Discover Bluestockings Bookstore in New York, New York: New York City's only radical feminist independent bookstore.

Caparra Archaeological Site

Discover Caparra Archaeological Site in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico: The ruins of the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico.

Burger Museum

Discover Burger Museum in Miami, Florida: This shrine to bovine consumption and all things fast food is a slice of culinary history both rare and well done.

Coney Island Mermaid Parade

Discover Coney Island Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn, New York: The famed amusement district marks the beginning of summer with a wild procession of nautical creatures.

Murchison Falls

Discover Murchison Falls in Uganda: Where the White Nile River dramatically cascades between Lake Kyoga and Lake Albert in Uganda.

Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Discover Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Givenchy-en-Gohelle, France: A monument to the thousands of Canadian soldiers who died capturing the French ridge during World War I.

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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