Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Pillar of Shame

Discover Pillar of Shame in Zadar, Croatia: Now harmless, this looming post struck fear into the heart of medieval troublemakers.

Canso Bomber Crash Site

Discover Canso Bomber Crash Site in Tofino, British Columbia: The wreckage still sits at the exact spot the plane crash-landed in 1945, carrying 1,000 pounds of explosives.

The Giant Ghibli Clock

Discover The Giant Ghibli Clock in Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo’s only Vaudeville-cuckoo clock–steampunk-Victorian curio cabinet time piece.

Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery

Discover Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery in Key West, Florida: A small poultry graveyard in the courtyard of a popular Key West watering hole.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux Painting

Discover St. Thérèse of Lisieux Painting in San Antonio, Texas: A priceless work of art created by the saint's own blood sister hangs in a San Antonio basilica.

Crypt of the Heroes

Discover Cripta de los Héroes in Cercado de Lima, Peru: The elaborate crypt where Peruvian heroes of the War of the Pacific were laid to rest.

Madison Buffalo Jump State Park

Discover Madison Buffalo Jump State Park in Three Forks, Montana: For thousands of years, Native American hunters drove buffalo straight off this cliff in Montana's Yellowstone Country.

Prehistoric Cave Art of Maros Pangkep

Discover Prehistoric Cave Art of Maros Pangkep in Bantimurung, Indonesia: These 40,000-year-old stenciled hands are older than the famous cave art in France and Spain.

House of David

Discover House of David in Benton Harbor, Michigan: The remains of a religious colony, its amusement park, zoo, and baseball empire.

Cavnic Gravity Hill

Discover Cavnic Gravity Hill in Comuna Budești, Romania: A spooky spot along the road where things mysteriously seem to move uphill by themselves.

The ‘Rocket’ Locomotive

Discover The ‘Rocket' Locomotive in York, England: This innovative steam machine was no doubt the most famous of the pioneer locomotives.

Caja Madrid Obelisk

Discover Caja Madrid Obelisk in Madrid, Spain: A towering monument in Spain has proven to be more labor-intensive than initially planned.

The Old Protestant Cemetery of Macau

Discover Old Protestant Cemetery in Macau: The final resting place of 19th-century sailors previously banned from being buried within Portuguese Macau.

Banzai Cliff

Discover Banzai Cliff in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands: Where hundreds of Japanese civilians committed suicide to avoid being captured by American soldiers during WWII.

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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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