Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Man/Woman’

Discover 'Man/Woman' in Baltimore, Maryland: Public opinion is still divided on this enormous sculpture in front of Baltimore's Penn Station.

Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya

Discover Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan: Discover the mummified remains of Ancient Egypt in the middle of metropolitan Tokyo.

Gadsden Hotel Windows

Discover Gadsden Hotel Windows in Douglas, Arizona: The lobby of this hotel near the U.S.-Mexico border features a stained-glass mural that measures 42 feet long and 6 feet tall.

Hiakai

Discover Hiakai in Wellington, New Zealand: This fine-dining restaurant features native New Zealand ingredients and Māori cooking.

Castle Cornet

Discover Castle Cornet in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey: Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey which is 800 years old.

Chicoma Mountain

Discover Chicoma Mountain in Hernandez, New Mexico: The highest peak in the Jemez Mountains and the traditional center of the Pueblo world.

Lake Amadeus

Discover Lake Amadeus in Petermann, Australia: This large lake in Central Australia contains an estimated 600 million tons of salt.

Nike Centre for Art and Culture

Discover Nike Centre for Art and Culture in Lekki, Nigeria: Not your average art gallery, this massive center hosts 8,000 works from artists across Africa—and it’s free to the public.

Shipwreck Museum

Discover Shipwreck Museum in Hastings, England: From battleships to Roman vessels, this museum explores the depths of shipwrecks in the region.

Hahn’s Peak Lookout

Discover Hahn’s Peak Lookout in Clark, Colorado: A long and winding trail through history led to the current iteration of this mountaintop tower.

Sahalie Falls

Discover Sahalie Falls in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon: Rushing water plunges over a 100-foot drop created by an ancient lava flow at this majestic waterfall.

McKendree Cemetery

Discover McKendree Cemetery in Brandywine, Maryland: This methodist cemetery is slowly receding into the wilderness along a Maryland highway.

‘Gentle Breeze’

Discover 'Gentle Breeze' in Boise, Idaho: This work of art by Matthew Mazzotta resides in this park dedicated to the first black legislator in Idaho.

Tafoni Sandstone Monolith

Discover Tafoni Sandstone Monolith in Redwood City, California: This unique formation appears as though an asteroid landed on the forest.

British Royal Party Loo

Discover British Royal Party Loo in Nhlagano, Eswatini: A remote toilet built for the convenience of the British Royal Party on their brief, and only, visit to this small African nation in 1947.

Welcome to 1979

Discover Welcome to 1979 in Nashville, Tennessee: Located inside a former record pressing plant, this recording studio pays homage to the techniques and gear of a bygone age.

Mighty Joe the Gorilla

Discover Mighty Joe the Gorilla in Shamong, New Jersey: This 25-foot-tall gorilla made his way from the Wildwood boardwalk to a Pine Barrens gas station and deli.

Mysterious Carved Rocks of Los Alamos

Discover Mysterious Carved Rocks of Los Alamos in Los Alamos, New Mexico: These strange carved boulders in a forested canyon resemble tiny stone villages.

Pine Forest Cemetery

Discover Pine Forest Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina: For more than 150 years, this cemetery has served as the final resting place for many members of Wilmington's Black community.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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