Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Golden Horn Chain

Discover Golden Horn Chain in Istanbul, Turkey: A section of the long chain that blocked enemy ships from entering Constantinople.

Broken Down Dam Park

Discover Broken Down Dam Park in Fergus Falls, Minnesota: A riverside park built around the ruins of a massive dam that collapsed in 1909.

Finnish Heritage Museum

Discover Finnish Heritage Museum in Fairport Harbor, Ohio: The charming collection celebrates a small Ohio village's Finnish roots.

Bridges of Ross

Discover Bridges of Ross in Ross, Ireland: This natural sea arch highlights Ireland's rugged coastal beauty.

Hahn/Cock

Discover Hahn/Cock in Minneapolis, Minnesota: One of two giant blue cockerel statues erected with an intentional double meaning.

Lange Duinen

Discover Lange Duinen in Soest, Netherlands: This large sand dune in the Netherlands is home to wind-whipped trees with "floating" roots.

Cimetière Saint-Pierre

Discover Cimetière Saint-Pierre in Marseille, France: France's third-largest necropolis offers a peaceful respite from a busy port city.

Strofades Monastery

Discover Strofades Monastery in Moni Strofadon, Greece: A lonely medieval monastery on an uninhabited island.

Bridge to the Moon

Discover Ponte alla Luna in Sasso di Castalda, Italy: Crossing this suspension bridge feels like walking through the sky, a fitting tribute to the head of the Apollo program.

The Red House

Discover The Red House in Tyne and Wear, England: An enigmatic sculpture depicts a ruined home with debris stretching for over half a mile along the river.

Itimbwe Gorge

Discover Itimbwe Gorge in Mbala, Zambia: A series of caves within the gorge hold artifacts from the Stone Age.

Bear Gulch Pictographs

Discover Bear Gulch Pictographs in Forest Grove, Montana: A scenic ravine with an astounding collection of rock art created by the Indigenous people of the Great Plains.

Pasha Gardens

Discover Pasha Gardens in Thessaloniki, Greece: A little-known park with unusual, half-ruined structures and a mystical energy.

Sometimes Train Tracks of Sunset Beach

Discover Sometimes Train Tracks of Sunset Beach in Cape May, New Jersey: Several times a year, during low tide, two pairs of historic train tracks are revealed on this New Jersey beach.

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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

PP ToS