Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Some Were Quite Blind’

Discover 'Some Were Quite Blind' in Gainesville, Florida: Four metal statues of massive animal penises stand outside the university's Animal Sciences building.

Museum of Driftwood

Discover Muzeum Samorostů (Museum of Driftwood) in Slavonice, Czechia: 600 stumps, branches, and trunks of different shapes and sizes.

Bateria de Castillitos

Discover Bateria de Castillitos in Cartagena, Spain: The two massive guns that defended Cartagena Bay.

Hotel Paisano

Discover Hotel Paisano in Marfa, Texas: A little stop along the Texas highway where Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean stayed while shooting the 1955 film "Giant.".

Rose Island Lighthouse

Discover Rose Island Lighthouse in Newport, Rhode Island: You can spend the night as an honorary lighthouse keeper in this quaint, historic beacon.

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes of Alaska

Discover Great Kobuk Sand Dunes in Northwest Arctic, Alaska: Massive mounds of golden sand look like a desert landscape randomly plopped in an Arctic forest.

Tyrolean Folk Art Museum

Discover Tyrolean Folk Art Museum in Innsbruck, Austria: Devilish masks, handicrafts, and pieces of old buildings create a snapshot of life in a historic Alpine region.

Oso Creek Fairy Trail

Discover Oso Creek Fairy Trail in Mission Viejo, California: This beautiful ridge-top trail is dotted by tiny homes apparently built by a group of itinerant fairies.

Potomac Park Flood Levee

Discover Potomac Park Flood Levee in Washington, D.C.: This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.

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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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