Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Neptune’s Fields

Discover Neptuni Åkrar in Borgholm N, Sweden: An otherworldly, fossil-rich cobble beach holds Viking graves, cairns, and other remains.

The Red Ghost of Quartzsite

Discover The Red Ghost of Quartzsite in Quartzsite, Arizona: A scrap-metal sculpture recalls an infamous 19th-century camel.

‘Thing of all Swedes’ Mound

Discover 'Thing of all Swedes' Mound in Uppsala, Sweden: The official meeting point for the oddly named governing assembly of ancient Sweden.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Discover Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans, Louisiana: The world-record holder for the longest bridge stretching continuously over water.

Powder Hill Dinosaur Park

Discover Powder Hill Dinosaur Park in Middlefield, Connecticut: This petite park lets visitors see and touch examples of fossilized dinosaur tracks.

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge

Discover General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Maracaibo, Venezuela: Once considered a marvel of engineering, there are now doubts about the structural integrity of this 5.4-mile cable-stayed bridge.

Bramhope Tunnel North Portal

Discover Bramhope Tunnel North Portal in Bramhope, England: This Gothic castle-like portal is a testament to the amazing craftsmanship of the navvies who built the railway tunnel.

The Green Skeleton

Discover The Green Skeleton in Oviedo, Spain: This Bronze Age man spent millennia buried in a mine, giving his bones an eerie hue.

Mission Creek Cemetery

Discover Mission Creek Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, Michigan: The final resting place of a prominent Chippewa chief and several Native American children.

Los Cerrillos

Discover Los Cerrillos in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico: This sparsely populated town offers a look back in time.

Tower Bridge Chimney

Discover Tower Bridge Chimney in London, England: An architectural oddity hides in plain sight on this iconic London bridge.

The Blind Beggar

Discover The Blind Beggar in London, England: This East End pub gained notoriety as the site where gangster Ronnie Kray publicly shot a rival.

The Devil’s Bit

Discover The Devil’s Bit in Glenreagh, Ireland: It's said this geological anomaly was caused when the Devil took a bite out of the Irish mountainside.

Tito Bustillo Cave

Discover Tito Bustillo Cave in Ribadesella, Spain: A magnificent place to see authentic paleolithic cave paintings that are an astounding 33,000 years old.

Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries

Discover Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries in St. Augustine, Florida: The graves in Florida's oldest Black cemeteries are marked with shells, stones, and mementos of the deceased.

Tivoli’s Astounding Magic Supply

Discover Tivoli's Astounding Magic Supply in Washington, D.C.: The district's only illusionarium supports free writing programs for local students with every purchase.

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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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