Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Painted Forest

Discover The Painted Forest in Wonewoc, Wisconsin: An unassuming house in Wisconsin hides a transient artist’s magnum opus.

Chicken of Chicken, Alaska

Discover Chicken of Chicken, Alaska in Chicken, Alaska: A giant poultry statue immortalizes one of Alaska's more humorous town names.

The World’s Richest Deposit of Gold

Discover Witwatersrand Basin in Hartbeespoort, South Africa: It's estimated that half of the world's gold was mined from South Africa's "golden arc.".

Washington, D.C.’s Infamous Gas Station

Discover Watergate Gas Station in Washington, D.C.: This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.

A Memorial to the Mighty Cheese Mite

Discover Cheese Mite Memorial in Zeitz, Germany: A simple tribute to the microscopic arachnid that gives its juices and its life to help make a speciality German cheese.

Kronshtadt Sea Gauge

Discover Kronshtadt Sea Gauge in Kronshtadt, Russia: This historic system is the zero level benchmark for measuring the depths and altitudes of the Baltic.

Grave of Thomas Ogle

Discover Grave of Thomas Ogle in Newark, Delaware: The tombstone of the founder of the lost town of Ogletown is now stuck inside a traffic median.

Folkestone White Horse

Discover Folkestone White Horse in Folkestone, England: One English town's celebratory landmark spurred more trouble than anticipated.

Coldrum Long Barrow

Discover Coldrum Long Barrow in Kent, England: A Neolithic burial site built 1,000 years before Stonehenge.

Dignity of Earth and Sky

Discover Dignity of Earth and Sky in Chamberlain, South Dakota: A striking sculpture built to honor the women of the Lakota and Dakota Nations.

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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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