Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Pha Nang Khoi Cave

Discover Pha Nang Khoi Cave in Tambon Rong Kwang, Thailand: The long underground cave's curiously shaped stalagmites have inspired many legends.

James Turrell Skyspace

Discover James Turrell Skyspace in Seattle, Washington: An enclosed rotunda at the Henry Art Gallery in which viewers can look up and see the uninterrupted sky.

Wreck of the USS Massachusetts

Discover Wreck of the USS Massachusetts in Pensacola, Florida: The "worst battleship ever built" is enjoying a grand second act, submerged 30 feet in the Gulf of Mexico.

Warsaw Poster Museum

Discover Warsaw Poster Museum in Warsaw, Poland: A national collection of Communist-era musical posters.

Couch Tomb

Discover Couch Tomb in Chicago, Illinois: No one knows how many bodies are in this vault in a Chicago public park.

Broke Leg Falls

Discover Broke Leg Falls in Wellington, Kentucky: Beautiful waterfalls in a canyon visibly torn by a violent tornado.

Indian Painted Rocks

Discover Indian Painted Rocks in Spokane, Washington: Protected from the elements, these Native American rock paintings have survived approximately 250 years.

Car in Concrete

The first sculpture at one of Spain's most unique art museums.

Lundin Links Standing Stones

Discover Lundin Links Standing Stones in Lundin Links, Scotland: A trio of giant megalithic stones in the middle of a golf course.

ARTISANworks

Discover ARTISANworks in Rochester, New York: The floor-to-ceiling collection in an old factory is a unique alternative to stuffy galleries.

Old Bussana Medieval Ghost Town

Discover Old Bussana (Bussana Vecchia) in Sanremo, Italy: An ancient rogue artist community hidden next to one of the world's most glitzy and glamorous cities.

Diskobukta Kittiwake Colony

Discover Diskobukta Kittiwake Colony in Norway: Thousands of birds nest in the cliffs while arctic foxes prowl below.

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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

PP ToS