Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Dude Chilling Park

Discover Dude Chilling Park in Vancouver, British Columbia: A renegade art installation in a small Vancouver park is now officially sanctioned by the City Parks Department.

Sasquatch Caves

Discover Sasquatch Caves in Hope, British Columbia: A hiking area billed as a possible home to Bigfoot.

Gibeau Orange Julep

Discover Gibeau Orange Julep in Montreal, Québec: The skyline of Montreal includes the silhouette of an unexpected fruit-shaped Canadian staple.

The Diefenbunker

Discover The Diefenbunker in Ottawa, Ontario: Canada's subterranean Cold War museum has doubled as a movie set.

United States–Canada Border Slash

Discover United States–Canada Border Slash in United States / Canada: The entire length of the border is marked by a 20-foot-wide slash through the trees.

Wood Buffalo National Park

Discover Wood Buffalo National Park in Improvement District No. 24, Alberta: The world's largest dark sky preserve is a Canadian park established to preserve the country's last wood bison.

The Empress Hotel

Discover The Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia: This historic Victorian hotel has a scandalous history of affairs and murder.

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery

Discover Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal, Québec: Canada's largest graveyard boasts a lot of noteworthy artifacts as well as its own computerized mapping service.

The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

Discover The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in Toronto, Ontario: The oldest landmark of Toronto is a testament to shifting sands.

Flowerpot Island

Discover Flowerpot Island in Tobermory, Ontario: Little island known for its massive beachfront "flowerpot" pillars.

Château Frontenac

Discover Château Frontenac in Québec City, Québec: This lovely, if imposing, piece of Canadian gothic is possibly the most photographed hotel in the world.

Adventure Stairs

Discover Adventure Stairs in Hamilton, Ontario: 305 homemade stone stairs wind their way up the Hamilton escarpment.

Sable Island

Discover Sable Island in Halifax, Nova Scotia: This crescent-shaped sliver of sand is a magical haven for a herd of feral horses.

Hôtel de Glace

Discover Hôtel de Glace in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec: This chilly Canadian hotel has a four-month lifespan due to the unusual material it's made of.

Bata Shoe Museum

Discover Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Ontario: A collection of more than 12,000 shoes, displayed in a building shaped like a shoebox.

Schwartz’s

Discover Schwartz's in Montreal, Québec: A Montreal deli that was so beloved that it was allowed to circumvent their laws of language.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Discover Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Joggins, Nova Scotia: Cliffs that hold fossils, including the earliest known reptile, dating back more than 300 million years.

Toronto Neighbourhood Watch Signs

Discover Toronto Neighbourhood Watch Signs in Toronto, Ontario: The Incredible Hulk, Yoda, Mulder and Scully, and many many others watch over the mean streets of Toronto.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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