Archives: Atlas Obscuras

LAX Theme Building

Discover LAX Theme Building in Los Angeles, California: This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.

Cuba’s Bay of Pigs Museum

Discover Museo Girón in Playa Girón, Cuba: A small museum in the Bay of Pigs gives the Cuban perspective on the famously failed U.S. invasion.

Santa Claus’ Main Post Office

Discover Santa Claus' Main Post Office in Rovaniemi, Finland: Roughly 17 million letters to Santa have found their way to this Arctic Circle post office.

Flavian Amphitheater of Pozzuoli

Discover Flavian Amphitheater of Pozzuoli in Pozzuoli, Italy: Italy's third-largest Roman arena gives a peek into the underground operations beneath the ancient spectacles.

Takht-i-Bahi

Discover Takht-i-Bahi in Takht Bhai, Pakistan: One of the last surviving ancient Buddhist sites in the region, it escaped the brunt of several Hun invasions thanks to its remote location.

Crestone End of Life Project

Discover Crestone End of Life Project in Crestone, Colorado: Open-air cremations in Colorado's self-proclaimed spiritual mecca.

Fort Mifflin

Discover Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: This little-known Revolutionary War fort is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of its past.

Hula Hoop Tree

Discover Hula Hoop Tree in Anamosa, Iowa: Two hula hoops appeared on the tree after a storm, and the collection kept growing.

Mexico City’s Museum of Folk Art

Discover Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City, Mexico: An airy Art Deco space devoted to the weird and wonderful folk art traditions of Mexico.

New England Carousel Museum

Discover New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, Connecticut: A parade of antique steeds offers a quirky ride through history.

World’s Largest Potted Plant

Discover World's Largest Potted Plant in London, England: The cedar tree in Highgate Cemetery earned its title by accident.

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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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