michellecassidy1's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Tromelin Island

Now home to nothing but a weather station and a landing strip, a group of enslaved people were marooned on this tiny island for 15 years.
Gerlach, Nevada

Fly Geyser

A collision of human error and natural geothermal pressure created this rainbow-colored geologic wonder.
New York, New York

Bellevue Hospital

The name of this famed hospital was once a byword for the horrors of medical and psychiatric care.
Lexington, Virginia

The Skin of Little Sorrel

The hide of Stonewall Jackson's equine sidekick is on display not far from where the ashes of his bones are buried.
Scotland, Maryland

Point Lookout State Park

This scenic Maryland park was the site of one of the worst prison camps of the Civil War.
Cougar, Washington

Ape Canyon

This scenic gorge is named after one of the most famous Bigfoot attacks in pseudohistory.
Waltham, Massachusetts

Fernald State School

Run by a eugenics advocate, this aging institution conducted secret radiation experiments sponsored by Quaker Oats.
Danvers, Massachusetts

Danvers State Hospital

The inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft's horror stories and Batman's Arkham Asylum is now a condominium complex.
Moscow, Russia

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Thirteen sculptures in central Moscow graphically depicting vices of the modern world.
Pepeekeo, Hawaii

'Akaka Falls

These picturesque Hawaiian falls are home to a rare species of fish that uses a special sucker to climb up cliffs.
Karachi, Pakistan

Mumtaz Begum

For more than 40 years this Barnum-inspired half-fox, half-woman has been telling fortunes from her cage in a Pakistani zoo.
Elberton, Georgia

Elberton Granite Museum

Home of Dutchy, an exhumed Confederate statue that was once torn down by an angry mob for looking stupid.
London, England

Fitzroy House

This historic London residence was once the womb of Scientology.
Hiraizumi, Japan

Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamondo

Founded over a thousand years ago, this shrine is said to be built on the site of a warlord's harem prison.
Dakar, Senegal

House of Slaves

Despite a fraught and controversial history this African island holds a powerful monument to the tragedy of the slave trade.
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Gullah Heritage Trail

The language and heritage of a nearly forgotten culture can still be explored in this Southern enclave.
Jefferson, Texas

Union Missionary Baptist Church

This historic Civil War church has survived over a century of racial turmoil but still stands as a reminder of the town's roots.
Naalehu, Hawaii

Ka Lae

The southernmost point in the United States is a beautiful place to look at but a deadly place to wade in.

Granite Peak

The highest point in Montana is as rugged and singular as the state itself.
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

BOH Tea Garden and Factory

The largest tea plantation in Southeast Asia supplies gorgeous vistas alongside tea for the surrounding countries.
Hamburg, Germany

Herbertstraße

Hamburg's first legal sex work is relegated to a gated street that still does not allow pedestrian women.
Belchertown, Massachusetts

Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded

This decrepit abandoned building is made all the more eerie by its dark history.
Inyo County, California

Manzanar National Historic Site

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."
Washington, D.C.

Fort Reno Park

The only Civil War battle in Washington D.C. took place near this highest natural point in the city.