Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Cat House

Discover Cat House in Valencia, Spain: This house's itty bitty size means no humans allowed.

Sears Mishap House Myth

Discover Sears Mishap House Myth in Savannah, Georgia: Local myth claims this is a Sears catalogue home with its windows installed upside-down.

Seven Seas Fish Trail

Discover Seven Seas Fish Trail in Hull, England: Explore Hull's historic Old Town by following the sea creatures scattered throughout its charmingly cobbled streets.

POW Iron Cross

Discover POW Iron Cross in Roswell, New Mexico: The symbol was surreptitiously built into the river bank by German prisoners of war.

Chess City

Discover Chess City in Elista, Russia: The largest Buddhist city in Europe is a haven for chess fanatics.

Figurines of Borås

Discover Figurines of Borås in Borås, Sweden: These miniature works of art are hiding in plain sight on buildings around the city.

New Zealand’s Moonshine Museum

Discover Hokonui Moonshine Museum in Gore, New Zealand: Celebrating the history of whiskey production during New Zealand's era of prohibition.

The Old Gum Tree

Discover The Old Gum Tree in Glenelg North, Australia: The colony of South Australia was proclaimed on a hot December day under a distinctively arched gum tree.

Kalalau Trail

Discover Kalalau Trail in Kapa'a, Hawaii: This narrow coastline trail through the dense Kauai wilderness is among the most beautiful and dangerous in the world.

Japan’s Wind Phone for Calling the Dead

Discover Wind Telephone in Otsuchi, Japan: A disconnected rotary phone for "calling" lost loved ones offered a unique way of dealing with grief in disaster-stricken Japan.

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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

PP ToS