Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Grave of Walter White

Discover Grave of Walter White in Albuquerque, New Mexico: The fictional star of "Breaking Bad" is memorialized with a real-life gravestone in his hometown.

Tippet Rise Art Center

Discover Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana: A working ranch doubles as a sustainable hub for world-renowned classical music and large-scale sculptures.

Humboldthain Flak Tower

Discover Humboldthain Flak Tower in Berlin, Germany: These former Nazi anti-aircraft towers offer a singular view of the north of Berlin in the summer, and a sanctuary for bats in winter.

Salto de Monday

Discover Salto de Monday in Presidente Franco, Paraguay: An underexplored, 130-foot tropical waterfall that you will have all to yourself.

Calumet Fisheries

Discover Calumet Fisheries in Chicago, Illinois: One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

Glacial Lake Hitchcock Sediment Dam

Discover Glacial Lake Hitchcock Sediment Dam in Rocky Hill, Connecticut: Now home to hardy plants, these sand and gravel dunes once held back a massive prehistoric lake.

Trellick Tower

Discover Trellick Tower in London, England: This iconic high-rise residential block was one of the last to be built in the Brutalist style.

Cercado Osero

Discover Cercado Osero in Proaza, Spain: A mountain path passes by several sprawling enclosures home to a pair of rescued brown bears.

The Steinbeck House Restaurant

Discover The Steinbeck House Restaurant in Salinas, California: Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

Doloris’s Meta Maze

Discover Doloris's Meta Maze in Tilburg, Netherlands: A dream-like maze full of strange art, surreal spaces, and fantasy landscapes to get lost in.

Baroque Library of Metten Abbey

Discover Baroque Library of Metten Abbey in Metten, Germany: This 8th-century Bavarian monastery is home to an exquisite Baroque-era library.

Wagner Manufacturing Company Factory

Discover Wagner Manufacturing Company Factory in Sidney, Ohio: The headquarters of a pioneering cast iron and cast aluminum cookware company is in ruins, but still standing.

Ralph Baer Memorial

Discover Ralph Baer Memorial in Manchester, New Hampshire: This riverfront statue honors the inventor of the first video games ever sold.

Miller Mausoleum

Discover Miller Mausoleum in Edinburgh, Scotland: This enormous, elaborate tomb looks oddly out of place next to a suburban Edinburgh bowling club.

Solomon’s Temple

Discover Solomon's Temple in Buxton, England: This landmark Victorian folly rewards visitors with spectacular views over the Peak District.

Umbrella Staircases of Amman

Discover Umbrella Staircases of Amman in Amman, Jordan: An oasis of shade and color amidst the bustle of the old city.

Banco de Materiais (Bank of Materials)

Discover Banco de Materiais (Bank of Materials) in Porto, Portugal: Building owners can take out tiles for free at this repository for historic building materials.

Leelanau Preservers Tile Wall

Discover Leelanau Preservers Tile Wall in Leland, Michigan: The artwork honors those who are dedicated to preserving the beautiful Michigan peninsula.

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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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