Cape Fear Serpentarium

Discover Cape Fear Serpentarium in Wilmington, North Carolina: An exotic reptile facility showcasing some of the rarest, most venomous snakes in the world.

Gnome Village

Discover Gnome Village in Carson, California: Gnomes have their very own bonsai-landscaped settlement on a university campus.

Panagia tu Araka

Discover Panagia tu Araka in Lagoudera, Cyprus: Breathtaking Byzantine paintings cover the inside of this 12th-century church.

Newberry Library Postcard Collection

Discover Newberry Library Postcard Collection in Chicago, Illinois: Rifle through images of skyscrapers, Worlds Fairs, and more in the largest public postcard repository in America.

The Edinburgh Maiden

Discover The Edinburgh Maiden in Edinburgh, Scotland: This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

Langue de Barbarie

Discover Langue de Barbarie in Ndieulé Mbam, Senegal: A tree seems to grow from the ocean floor on this strange strip of sand slowly being overtaken by the sea.

Philbrook Museum of Art

Discover Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma: The collection is housed in an exquisite mansion that makes you feel like you've been transported to an Italian villa.

Cârța Monastery

Discover Cârța Monastery in Cârța, Romania: Climbing to the top of the cathedral's bell tower offers sweeping views of these medieval ruins.

Enrique Molina Theater

Discover Enrique Molina Theater in Concepción, Chile: The ruins of a grand theater destroyed during the most powerful seismic catastrophe ever recorded.

Leawood Pump House

Discover Leawood Pump House in Whatstandwell, England: Its impressive still-working beam engine is a thing of beauty for engineering history fans.

Braden Castle Ruins

Discover Braden Castle Ruins in Bradenton, Florida: These crumbling foundations are all that remain of the once-stately 1840s manor that gave the town of Bradenton its name.

Museum of Whimsy

Discover Museum of Whimsy in Astoria, Oregon: A delightfully quirky blend of oddities spread throughout an old 1920s bank.

Ballochmyle Cup and Ring Marks

Discover Ballochmyle Cup and Ring Marks in East Ayrshire, Scotland: These ancient symbols freckling a Scottish cliff remained hidden for centuries.

Mausoleum of Theoderic

Discover Mausoleum of Theoderic in Ravenna, Italy: The roof of this ancient mausoleum is made from a single Istrian stone weighing a massive 230 tons.

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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