Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Lake Norman

Discover Lake Norman in Fallstown, North Carolina: A Nessie-like monster supposedly lurks in this lake.

Sugar Loaf Ski Lodge

Discover Sugar Loaf Ski Lodge in Cedar, Michigan: A crumbling mountain resort that looks like it was abandoned in an instant.

The Doors of Fame

Discover The Doors of Fame in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: These old doors are covered in the signatures of Rehoboth Beach artists dating back to the 1930s.

The Underground Mosque

Discover Yeralti Camii (Underground Mosque) in Istanbul, Turkey: A surprising and unconventional mosque hidden in the subsoil of Istanbul.

Watermelon Rock

Discover Watermelon Rock in Oakland, California: A unique piece of graffiti offers a little slice of local history and mystery.

Pig Monument

Discover Pig Monument in Tennille, Georgia: An odd and heartwarming stone marker enshrines the moment a community saved a farmer's pig that fell in a well.

Bevin Boys Memorial

Discover Bevin Boys Memorial in Staffordshire, England: A long-overdue monument to the forgotten British men drafted into the coal mines during World War II.

L’île Penotte Seashell Art

Discover L'île Penotte Seashell Art in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France: Wall after wall of this French seaside neighborhood is intricately decorated with seashells and corals.

Winged Figures of the Republic

Discover Winged Figures of the Republic in Boulder City, Nevada: A Norwegian-born sculptor created these soaring guardian angels at the entrance to Hoover Dam.

Iceland’s Herring Era Museum

Discover Herring Era Museum in Siglufjörður, Iceland: This excellent museum recreates the boom days of the herring rush in the "Atlantic Klondike.".

Giant Sun Mirrors of Rjukan

Discover Giant Sun Mirrors of Rjukan in Rjukan, Norway: For six months of the year, three giant mirrors direct a pool of sunshine onto this otherwise occluded town.

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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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