Archives: Atlas Obscuras

National Ice Core Lab

Discover National Ice Core Lab in Denver, Colorado: Where scientists keep miles of very valuable ice from Antarctica and Greenland from melting.

McKinley Presidential Library & Museum

Discover McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton, Ohio: Mausoleums, astronomy, and animatronic dinosaurs at this memorial to an assassinated American president.

Lithia Water Fountain

Discover Lithia Water Fountain in Ashland, Oregon: A public fountain that spouts "health water" from a nearby spring.

Museum of Business History and Technology

Discover Museum of Business History and Technology in Wilmington, Delaware: Hundreds of antiquated typewriters and office machinery show the technological evolution of business.

Ancient Burying Ground

Discover Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford, Connecticut: The oldest place in Hartford is a cemetery with thousands of bodies stacked beneath the grass.

Reanimation Library

Discover Reanimation Library in Brooklyn, New York: Obscure and obsolete publications are given new life as works of art.

Argentina’s Eiffel Wheel

Discover Rueda Eiffel in Córdoba, Argentina: An intriguing antique iron Ferris wheel that most locals are sure was designed by Gustave Eiffel.

CairnGorm Mountain Railway

Discover CairnGorm Mountain Railway in Highland, Scotland: Scotland's only funicular railway is also the United Kingdom's highest.

Laura Palmer’s House

Discover Laura Palmer's House in Everett, Washington: This private home is famous for appearing in the cult-classic "Twin Peaks" series.

Balbals of Oskemen

Discover Balbals of Oskemen in Ust'-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan: Stelae-eyed stones greet visitors to a corner of Kirov Park.

Bishkek Circus

Discover Bishkek Circus in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: This retro, UFO-like structure is a remnant of the Soviet-era circus.

Dingo Flour Sign

Discover Dingo Flour Sign in North Fremantle, Australia: Visible from both land and sea.

Saint Michael’s Church

Discover Saint Michael's Church in Prague, Czechia: This charming wooden church was disassembled and moved not once but twice before settling in this Prague garden.

Coyote

Discover Coyote in Healdsburg, California: A huge work of Burning Man-inspired outsider art on the grounds of a California winery.

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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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