Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Grace Hopper’s Bug

Discover Grace Hopper's Bug in Washington, D.C.: A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.

House in the Loire

Discover House in the Loire in Couëron, France: The sunken structure looks like the victim of a catastrophic flood.

Skylab’s Remains

Discover Skylab’s Remains in Esperance, Australia: A tiny museum in Esperance, Australia, displays a bunch of space debris from NASA’s Skylab.

Midwestern Pizza Farms

Discover Suncrest Gardens Pizza Farm in Cochrane, Wisconsin: Farms are serving pizza made from their own fresh crops, a growing trend in the American Midwest.

San Lazzaro degli Armeni

Discover San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Lido, Italy: Originally a leper colony, the island is now an Armenian monastery that's home to an incredible manuscript library and eclectic museum.

Kapishya Hot Springs

Discover Kapishya Hot Springs in Chinsali, Zambia: A secluded natural oasis hidden deep along a rainforest trail.

The Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash

Discover Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash in Dyess, Arkansas: The Man In Black grew up in a large agrarian community established by the federal government in the Great Depression.

Robe Chinese Monument

Discover Robe Chinese Monument in Robe, Australia: A simple tribute to the migrant workers who landed here before walking hundreds of miles to Victoria's gold mines.

Tumuli Lava Blisters

Discover Tumuli Lava Blisters in Byaduk, Australia: These naturally occurring but rare geological formations are each about the size of a small house.

Abandoned London Psychiatric Hospital

Discover London Psychiatric Hospital in London, Ontario: Clusters of abandoned buildings hint at the facility's 144-year history with psychiatric health.

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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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