Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Midas Ghost Town Saloon

Discover Midas Ghost Town Saloon in Golconda, Nevada: A hidden gem of a saloon in the middle of a ghost town.

Black Madonna Shrine

Discover Black Madonna Shrine in Pacific, Missouri: This wooded grove of beautiful hand-built stone grottos is a hidden gem within a shuttered Franciscan monastery.

Compton Hill Water Tower

Discover Compton Hill Water Tower in St. Louis, Missouri: One of few surviving standpipe water towers in the U.S.

Tenderloin National Forest

Discover Tenderloin National Forest in San Francisco, California: A speck of nature and art in one of San Francisco’s most notorious neighborhoods.

MPTA-098

Discover MPTA-098 in Huntsville, Alabama: A propulsion engine testbed that paved the way for the Space Shuttle launch sits without recognition at this rocket center.

Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen)

Discover Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen) in Tromsø, Norway: This functioning parish church is also the site of many concert performances due to its wonderful acoustics.

Burlington Earth Clock

Discover Burlington Earth Clock in Burlington, Vermont: Stand at the center of this lakefront sundial, and you'll become part of the timepiece.

Poço da Pedreira

Discover Poço da Pedreira in Santa Maria, Portugal: Rainwater transformed this old quarry into a peaceful pond you won't find in most tourist books.

Monument to Yuri Gagarin

Discover Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Barskoon, Kyrgyzstan: A boulder carved into the shape of the cosmonaut's head.

Tower of the Winds

Discover Tower of the Winds in Athens, Greece: An ancient octagonal weather station named for the eight Greek gods of wind.

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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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