Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Cemetery of Anchors

Discover Cemetery of Anchors in Santa Luzia, Portugal: Dead weights honor the dead of Portugal's fishing industry.

Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral

Discover Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York, New York: A replica of a 7th-century church hides in plain sight in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Ronald Ross Memorial

Discover Ronald Ross Memorial in Kolkata, India: A monument to the British doctor who connected mosquitoes to malaria.

Rye Water House

Discover Rye Water House in Rye, England: An ancient water supply dating back almost 500 years can still be found standing in East Sussex.

Kashgar Livestock Market

Discover Kashgar Livestock Market in Kashi Diqu, China: Be careful not to get trampled at this lively two thousand-year-old market.

Huston Cemetery

Discover Huston Cemetery in West Des Moines, Iowa: A small burial plot formerly stranded in the middle of a road.

Schilthorn Piz Gloria

Discover Schilthorn Piz Gloria in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: A cablecar-station-turned-revolving restaurant with 360-degree views of the Swiss skyline.

Ilana Goor Museum

Discover Ilana Goor Museum in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel: A modern-day cabinet of curiosities housed in a 300-year-old inn.

‘How’s It Going?’ Phone Booth

Discover 'How's It Going?' Phone Booth in Seydisfjordur, Iceland: An isolated, rusty phone booth commemorates Iceland's first international telegraph cable.

The Skeletons of Stonehenge

Discover The Skeletons of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England: Ancient human remains unearthed around the iconic monument.

Yumbilla Falls

Discover Yumbilla Falls in Provincia de Bongará, Peru: The world's fifth tallest waterfall is a spectacular silver chute of water that cuts through the cloud forest in northern Peru.

Ronald Reagan’s Situation Room

Discover Ronald Reagan’s Situation Room in Simi Valley, California: The White House Situation Room was taken apart in 2006 and shipped to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Big Rock Nature Preserve

Discover Big Rock Nature Preserve in Charlotte, North Carolina: These strange large stones served as a campsite and lookout post for generations of Native Americans.

Cross of the Captive

Discover Cross of the Captive in Córdoba, Spain: A curious carving hides on a marble column in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.

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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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