Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Davaar Island Cave Painting

Discover Davaar Island Cave Painting in Argyll and Bute, Scotland: The artwork is tucked within a cave on a tiny Scottish island only accessible at low tide.

A Fake D.C. Metro Station in Georgia

Discover Fake D.C. Metro Station in Perry, Georgia: Military and first responders can test their skills in a Foggy Bottom mock station down in Georgia.

Peace Garden at Tavistock Square

Discover Peace Garden at Tavistock Square in London, England: A quiet, semi-secret square with statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Virginia Woolf, and a conscientious objectors stone.

Murals of Angoulême

Discover Murals of Angoulême in Angoulême, France: The vibrant buildings in the “capital of the comic strip” celebrate the art form that made it famous.

Teleférico Quito

Discover Teleférico Quito in Quito, Ecuador: The gondolas let you glimpse a bird's-eye view of one of the world's highest capital cities.

AC/DC Lane

Discover AC/DC Lane in Melbourne, Australia: A colorful street named for the legendary Australian rock band.

World’s Fair Wisconsin Pavilion

Discover World's Fair Wisconsin Pavilion in Neillsville, Wisconsin: This odd-shaped relic from the 1964 New York World's Fair found its way back home to Wisconsin.

Here Stands A Heroine Of Ukraine

Tatyana Markus was personally responsible for the death of several key Nazi operatives whom she deceived using a false identity.

Carousel Bar

Discover Carousel Bar in New Orleans, Louisiana: The only rotating bar in New Orleans has been slowly spinning since 1949.

Urban Axes

Discover Urban Axes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The first American axe throwing club.

Falling Car of Bordeaux

Discover Falling Car of Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France: This Bordeaux parking garage has 712 indoor spaces, and one outdoor.

Menu

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