Archives: Atlas Obscuras

A World of Accordions Museum

Discover A World of Accordions Museum in Superior, Wisconsin: A collection of 1,300 accordions of all shapes and sizes displayed in chronological order.

Great Channels of Virginia

Discover Great Channels of Virginia in Saltville, Virginia: This maze-like slot canyon is a unique gem within an already fascinating geological area.

Kingsland Wildflowers

Discover Kingsland Wildflowers in Brooklyn, New York: Thriving meadows span a rooftop in one of Brooklyn's most heavily industrialized neighborhoods.

Biddy Mason Memorial Park

Discover Biddy Mason Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California: A beautiful memorial tells the story of a formerly enslaved woman whose kindness shaped a burgeoning city.

St. John’s Church

Discover St. John's Church in Glynn, Northern Ireland: Local legend says there's treasure hidden within its crowded graveyard.

Jimmy Shand Statue

Discover Jimmy Shand Statue in Auchtermuchty, Scotland: A small Scottish town's larger-than-life tribute to the celebrated accordion player.

Ice Age Cave Dwellings at Creswell Crags

Discover Ice Age Cave Dwellings at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire, England: A gorge full of caverns where early humans lived alongside cave hyenas, giant mammoths and wooly rhinoceroses.

The Cathedral of Steam

This steampunk pumping station is a Victorian marvel of engineering and artistic prowess.

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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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