Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Great Salt Lick

Discover The Great Salt Lick in Baker City, Oregon: A bronze replica of half-consumed salt lick honors a quirky town tradition.

Mercury Cougar

Discover Mercury Cougar in Zebulon, North Carolina: A giant cat slowly prowls the parking lot of Zebulon's car dealerships.

L.A.’s Oldest Tiki Bar

Discover The Tonga Hut in Los Angeles, California: Though tiki culture has gone in and out of fashion, the Tonga Hut has always been flying the flag in Los Angeles.

Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument

Discover Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument in Georgia: A cylinder monument with a spectacular vista commemorates a friendship that some say never existed.

Eye Roller Clock

Discover Augenroller (Eye Roller) in Koblenz, Germany: Every half hour the eye-rolling clock face sticks out its tongue to mock the good citizens of Koblenz.

Graves of Beechey Island

Discover Graves of Beechey Island in Nunavut: The remote graves mark the mysterious deaths of four 19th century explorers.

The Museum of Interesting Things

Discover The Museum of Interesting Things in New York, New York: A hands-on traveling collection of the innovative devices of yesteryear.

Czar PRL: Life Under Communism Museum

Discover Czar PRL: Life Under Communism Museum in Warsaw, Poland: This hidden collection of everyday objects illustrates life within communist Poland.

Rue Crémieux

Discover Rue Crémieux in Paris, France: This charming cobbled backstreet is the most Instagramable street in Paris, much to the residents' annoyance.

Valley of the Saints

Discover Vallée des Saints (Valley of the Saints) in Carnoët, France: A remote hilltop covered in giant monoliths haunts the Brittany countryside.

Mission Church of San Xavier

Discover Mission Church of San Xavier in San Javier, Bolivia: This gorgeous, colorful 18th-century church is part of one of Bolivia's few surviving Jesuit missions.

Shorewood Ghost Train

Discover Shorewood Ghost Train in Shorewood, Wisconsin: A circus of light and sound forms a sensory ode to an iconic train that will never pass through town again.

Art Center Kvartira

Discover Art Center Kvartira in Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine: A beautiful art space and unusual mini-hotel hidden in the city center of Dnipro.

The Weeping Glass

Discover The Weeping Glass in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A beautiful oddities shop crammed with strange and morbid curiosities.

Giant Hog Stand

Discover Giant Hog Stand in San Antonio, Texas: This big empty pig is a nostalgic throwback to mid-20th-century Texas barbecue.

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