Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Site of the Cohoes Mastodon

Discover Site of the Cohoes Mastodon in Cohoes, New York: A 13,000-year-old mastodon skeleton was found during the construction of a 19th-century New York mill.

Fortaleza Ozama (Ozama Fortress)

Discover Fortaleza Ozama (Ozama Fortress) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: The oldest colonial fortress in the Americas was once the home and later prison of Christopher Columbus.

Schoonoord Historical Garden

Discover Schoonoord Historical Garden in Rotterdam, Netherlands: An early 19th-century English style garden hidden in the Rotterdam cityscape.

The Resting Place of Pocahontas

Discover The Resting Place of Pocahontas in Kent, England: The last resting place of the famous Native American princess is marked by a haunting monument.

Sunvale Village

Discover Sunvale Village in Twentynine Palms, California: In this roadside "community for the small," abandoned toys gain new lives.

Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum

Discover Ogyen Choling Palace and Museum in Tang Valley, Bhutan: This Bhutanese site is one of eight sacred locales established by a revered 14th-century Buddhist master.

Tomb of the Black Prince

Discover Tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury, England: An impressive armored bronze effigy marks the tomb of one of the medieval era's greatest warriors.

Rouken Glen Park Waterfalls

Discover Rouken Glen Park Waterfalls in East Renfrewshire, Scotland: These semi-natural waterfalls hint at the park's Victorian-era industrial past.

Østerlars Church

Discover Østerlars Church in Gudhjem, Denmark: The largest of Denmark's seven mysterious round churches stands on an island in the Baltic Sea.

Guillermo Tovar de Teresa House Museum

Discover Guillermo Tovar de Teresa House Museum in Mexico City, Mexico: The now-public home of a renowned art collector is full of unique pieces from viceregal and 19th-century Mexico.

Gospodor Monument Park

Discover Gospodor Monument Park in Toledo, Washington: These memorials built by an eccentric bachelor on the side of Interstate 5 cause both wonder and traffic accidents.

Kyichu Lhakhang Temple

Discover Kyichu Lhakhang Temple in Bhutan: One of Bhutan's oldest temples was purportedly built to halt a giant female ogre from preventing the spread of Buddhism across Tibet.

Cachoeira do Lajeado

Discover Cachoeira do Lajeado in Santana do Riacho, Brazil: This unique 230-foot waterfall is a natural beauty hidden within the vast wild landscape.

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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

PP ToS