Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Great Spirit Path

Discover The Great Spirit Path in Menlo Park, California: A trail weaves through the verses of a poem illustrated by stone sculptures inspired by Native American pictographs.

Neskowin Ghost Forest

Discover Neskowin Ghost Forest in Neskowin, Oregon: The eerie remnants of an ancient forest were hidden under the sand for centuries.

Hotel Radium Palace

Discover Hotel Radium Palace in Jáchymov, Czechia: Visitors flock to the historic birthplace of radiobalneology for its therapeutic radium treatments.

The Gas Station

Discover The Gas Station in Bastrop, Texas: The pit stop from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" now serves beef and pork barbecue, not people.

Vintage Arcade Superstore

Discover Vintage Arcade Superstore in Glendale, California: This childhood throwback has hundreds of arcade games and pinball machines to transport you back in time.

Potash Evaporation Ponds

Discover Potash Evaporation Ponds in Moab, Utah: Few things look more out of place than the electric blue ponds in the reddish-brown desert of Utah.

Dickens and Little Nell

Discover Dickens and Little Nell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The oldest of only three existing statues of the great novelist stands in a city he did not care for.

Street of the Seven Crosses

Discover Calle García Moreno in Quito, Ecuador: This historic street in Quito is known for its seven stone crosses—and one presidential assassination.

Rune Staff Collection

Discover Rune Staff Collection in Uppsala, Sweden: The second-largest collection of runic calendar staffs in Sweden.

Spruce Hill Bird Sanctuary

Discover Spruce Hill Bird Sanctuary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Hidden behind West Philadelphia rowhomes is a haven for migratory and local bird species both ordinary and rare.

Kerr’s Run Colored School

Discover Kerr’s Run Colored School in Pomeroy, Ohio: This schoolhouse for Black American children is one of the oldest remaining in southeastern Ohio.

Procession of the Species

Discover Procession of the Species in Olympia, Washington: Celebrate Earth Day with a menagerie of vibrant, artistic animal costumes.

Virtaka Cliff

Discover Virtaka Cliff in Krimulda Parish, Latvia: This remote sandstone cliff has one of the richest collections of Livonian petroglyph marks.

Flaran Abbey

Discover Flaran Abbey in Valence-sur-Baïse, France: A treasure trove of fine art is hiding inside this small medieval abbey in Gascony.

The Most Expensive Galician Restaurant

Discover The Most Expensive Galician Restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine: Get past the gatekeeper's apartment and enter an elaborate hoax of a restaurant with a Masonic feel.

Ruhnu Lighthouse

Discover Ruhnu Lighthouse in Ruhnu, Estonia: It's rumored this unique Baltic beacon was designed by Gustave Eiffel himself.

Kenmure Hill Temple

Discover Kenmure Hill Temple in Johnstone, Scotland: A mysterious ruin shrouded in more folklore than fact.

Chapman’s Peak Drive

Discover Chapman's Peak Drive in Cape Town, South Africa: This road winds through the steep coastal cliffside offering spectacular views for those who brave the drive.

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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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