Whether you’re out for a serene stroll or hoping to spot a rare species, Florida offers dozens of peaceful natural havens for bird and wildlife viewing. Have your field guide and binoculars at the ready to identify the elusive Reddish Egret, Snail Kite, or Red-cockaded Woodpecker … | Continue reading
Some of Florida’s most amazing natural marvels can be reached best—or only—by paddling a kayak or stand-up paddle board. With maze-like mangrove tunnels teeming with marine life, small islands found along the coasts, and places to float alongside manatees, the southeasternmost st … | Continue reading
Life in the Colorado mining town of Leadville during the 1800's Silver Rush was brutal. Due to famine and mine closures in Ireland, many Irish miners and their families immigrated to Leadville in search of work and a better life. Though there was work in Leadville, it was dangero … | Continue reading
If the water calls to you, you can’t do better than Florida, with its more than 8,400 miles of coastline and varying habitats where an incredible collection of fish, amphibians, and mammals dwell. Eric Hovland, animal care specialist for The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, fell in lov … | Continue reading
Florida boasts an incredible 269 species of animals and over 230 plants found exclusively within its borders—if you know where to look. From Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic to the westernmost Keys, incredible flora and fauna are waiting to be discovered, including enormous loggerh … | Continue reading
Florida boasts an incredible 269 species of animals and over 230 plants found exclusively within its borders—if you know where to look. From Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic to the westernmost Keys, incredible flora and fauna are waiting to be discovered, including enormous loggerh … | Continue reading
Over the past few months, we’ve run excerpts from our new book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders, which publishes today. This last excerpt is from the introduction, which tries to situate our own species within the web of life. About 7 million years ag … | Continue reading
This nondescript YMCA camp on the northern shores of Oahu was the filming location for the legendary Dharma Barracks in the hit television series Lost, which in its heyday was a hugely popular and award-winning show with a cult following and remains revered as one of the greatest … | Continue reading
THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE SEPTEMBER 14, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. What do you do when there’s a room in your house that’s too ugly for words? I like my apartment. However, a past landlord must have blindfolded thems … | Continue reading
One of the last remaining iron-hulled sailing ships from the 19th century has been lovingly restored and is now docked at New York’s historic South Street Seaport Museum. First launched in 1885 from Southampton, England, Wavertree is a majestic relic of maritime trade. Measuring … | Continue reading
Different parts of this fort were built between the 11th and 14th centuries, which makes it the oldest fort in the Baltistan region. The fort exhibits distinctive Tibetan architecture, and it is no coincidence, since Baltistan used to belong to the Tibetan Empire from 7th to 9th … | Continue reading
Stonehenge, Britain’s most captivating monument, continues to reveal pieces of its enduring mystery. Among numerous archaeological discoveries, dubbed by the press as the "King of Stonehenge," the Amesbury Archer reveals crucial details of life in the early Bronze Age. While some … | Continue reading
This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. Across human history, no single animal has had a deeper impact on human societies than the horse. But when and how people domesticated horses has been an ongoing scientific … | Continue reading
Kamakura is a medieval city enclosed within mountains. Historically, before the advent of tunnels, people built kiridōshi for traffic; this was a narrow mountain pass cut straight out of cliffs, which made it difficult for enemies to invade. While the most notable of those are re … | Continue reading
The Historical Glass Museum in Redlands California is a jewel box filled with a uniquely American invention: pressed glass. The technique of pressing glass in a mold for mass production of goods was invented in the United States in the 1820s. By the end of the century, glass fact … | Continue reading
The Postbllok Memorial is an artwork by the artist Ardian Isufi and writer Fatos Lubonja. The memorial was inaugurated on March 26, 2013. Postbllok was designed to be a memorial to the atrocities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, and it is made up of three separate p … | Continue reading
Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). Imagine an Easter egg hunt in the dark—except the eggs can run away from you. That’s what the puffling season is li … | Continue reading
Getting inside the abandoned Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School shouldn’t have been as easy as it was. It made me nervous, like it was a trap. The doors on the back of the building were wide open and, ducking inside, we made our way through the cavernous remains of the gymnasiu … | Continue reading
Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was born as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on January 27, 1832, in the Cheshire village of Daresbury. His father was the vicar of All Saints' Church, where Charles, his third child and eldest son, was baptized. Now a major … | Continue reading
Just outside the Masvingo Army Barracks in Zimbabwe's tropical savanna sits a chapel honoring the refuge that Italian, German, and Austrian enemy aliens took there during World War II. The chapel was built between 1942 and 1946 mostly by Italians held at Number 5 Camp just outsid … | Continue reading
Among the hundreds of objects at an upcoming exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, there’s one that stands out: a lovely turquoise-tinted pitcher, shaped like a rooster. Curator Katherine E. Kasdorf calls it “fabulous.” The ewer, she explains, dates back to 13th-cen … | Continue reading
This section of the Toledo Museum of Art has been a draw for many poets, performers, and apostles of art. This "open-air courtyard" is contained within the museum and presents the illusion of being outside with tall ceilings and color-changing lights to accent the mood or perform … | Continue reading
The Tower of Sir Richard Church is one of the few Ottoman constructed buildings surviving in Athens, and the only one of its kind. When the Ottomans completed the siege of Athens in 1456, they respected many of the buildings and monuments. During the occupation they added infrast … | Continue reading
Glasgow, Montana is located in the middle of nowhere. Literally—in 2018, the Washington Post named it America's most isolated city, as it is at least four and a half hours from any direction from any metropolitan area. Glasgow is surrounded by even smaller towns (such as Fort Pec … | Continue reading
Located in the Dore mountains of Auvergne, Lac Pavin is a fascinating volcanic crater lake that enchants visitors with its perfectly round shape and striking blue-green waters. Nestled in the lush landscape of central France, this natural gem is a delight for the eyes and nature … | Continue reading
When the waves are just right, this coral formation spouts seawater up to 20 meters into the air. The Hoyo Soplador also makes a thunderous sound as the water rushes through the narrow blowhole into the air. Since the blowhole is both easily accessible and free to visit, it's one … | Continue reading
All over the world, you can find monuments to individuals who have achieved greatness or accomplished monumental feats of brilliance. In some cases, these memorials commemorate a particular event, like the stone where Mozart allegedly stopped to relieve himself or the spot where … | Continue reading
This museum in Stockholm is dedicated to the creation, rise, and legacy of Sweden's most popular band: ABBA. Since the Swedish quartet burst onto the music scene in the 1970s, they've sold some 385 million records, provided the songs for a Broadway musical (and a movie version of … | Continue reading
Located in Tatsfield, England, Coccolith is a unique dry-stone sculpture inspired by ancient marine organisms. Created by artists INSTAR, this circular structure on the North Downs Way blends art with nature. Built from local materials, it features five engraved stone seats and a … | Continue reading
In front of the imposing Malolos Cathedral, also known as the Basilica Minore de la Nuestra de Immuculada Conception, stands a very large tree. Locals fondly call it the Kalayaan Tree, which means "freedom tree." There are similar trees around, but only this one has a name being … | Continue reading
This short but spectacular canyon, a tributary of the Snake River, was originally thought to be formed by sapping, the upward retreat of the cliff at the head of the canyon through undermining by groundwater seepage. Recent research, however, has indicated that a massive flooding … | Continue reading
Adjacent to the small, rocky Little Haven Beach in South Shields, Northumberland, stand 22 strangely shaped bronze figures, each weighing about a quarter of a ton. The unusual installation is by Spanish artist Juan Muñoz. The bulbous bases upon which these figures sit have led to … | Continue reading
In 1999, deputy mayor of Vitteaux François Sauvadet commissioned a piece of art to mark the passage into the new millennium. Ten years later, a round metal ship appeared to make a crash landing in a field on the outskirts of town. This UFO was the work of Sylvie Fleury, the Swiss … | Continue reading
Siscia, today Sisak in Croatia, was once a major city of the Roman provinces. Rising to its prominence in the late third century, it was appointed as the capital of Pannonia Savia when Diocletian reformed the Empire in 295, reinforcing its frontiers. The city is largely forgotten … | Continue reading
The identity of the world’s earliest cookbook has long been a subject of debate—and depends a lot on what you consider a cookbook. Some scholars would say that De re coquinaria, an ancient Roman collection of recipes compiled around the 5th century takes the honor. But millennia … | Continue reading
“It’s a history of Temperance, it's a little bit a history of beer, and it's certainly a history of social reform,” says Kris Butler of her book Drink Maps in Victorian Britain, published in July. Informed by her background as a lawyer, Butler delves into the late 19th-century pu … | Continue reading
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Chester Racecourse is the oldest still-functioning facility of its kind in the world, established in 1539. It also happens to be the smallest, running a full circuit in just over one mile and one furlong (1.8 kilometers). However, … | Continue reading
There are as many as four of Reno artist David Fambrough's giant "spider bugs" crawling around the American Southwest. Some have changed locations over the years. This one is lurking just outside of Carson City, Nevada. As the property appears to be for sale, it's possible the ar … | Continue reading
This museum in the Plaka district of Athens, near the Roman Agora, is three floors of aesthetically and ethnologically valuable instruments housed in an old mansion. The collection's existence is largely thanks to the research of musicologist Fivos Anoyanakis. In 1978, Anoyanakis … | Continue reading
Arcadia is currently housed in two separate buildings on the town square in McLean, Illinois. This playable arcade museum is fun for the whole family. In the main building, play classic video games like Pac Man and Donkey Kong. Across the street at Pinball Paradise, there are pin … | Continue reading
A maze of halls and shrines of brightly painted deities makes up White Cloud Temple’s sprawling complex. First established during the 8th century, it was a particularly prestigious center for Taoism during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, though most of the temple halls are the result of … | Continue reading
In the 18th century, the law of England stated that anyone under 21 must have consent from at least one parent before they could get married. But as Scottish law contained no such a requirement, many eloping couples with disapproving parents sought a solution by crossing into Sco … | Continue reading
The Derby Tunnel in Derby, Tasmania, is a hidden treasure that transports visitors back to the town's mining days. Established during Tasmania's mining boom in the 1870s, Derby was a hub for tin mining and timber milling. This dark, unlit tunnel, once a hive of industrial activit … | Continue reading
Built between 1409 and 1411, the Hôtel de Bourgogne was once a hectare-wide complex where the Counts of Artois and later the Dukes of Burgundy resided. Though it has been reduced to a single tower called Tour Jean-sans-Peur ("Tower of John the Fearless") standing in the courtyard … | Continue reading
One of the oldest Christian churches standing in the Americas can be found in the Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacán. The Capilla de la Inmaculada Concepción, commonly known in Spanish as "La Conchita," was built in 1525 by Spanish colonists in what is now Mexico. The presence … | Continue reading
These narrow passages, found throughout the town, date back to medieval times and were originally designed to guide livestock to the market square. Stow-on-the-Wold, with its large and bustling square, was a significant center for wool trading, and the Tures played a crucial role … | Continue reading
Tokyo is a city of rivers, home to thousands of bridges that have been rebuilt numerous times over the centuries. Shin-Ōhashi Bridge, which crosses the Sumida River between the wards of Chūō and Kōtō, may not seem so flashy—except for its bright yellow pillars—but it happens to b … | Continue reading
You might be surprised to hear that Poland has a desert. You might be even more surprised to hear that the Eastern European country has multiple. Though the Błędowska Desert is larger, the Kozłow Desert (or Pustynia Kozłowska in Polish) in the Lower Silesian Forest has a particul … | Continue reading