gemmatarlach's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place
Gastro Obscura
story
grains

This Nearly Lost Ancient Grain Tradition Could Be the Future of Farming

A past global staple you've never heard of, maslins are poised for a comeback.
October 13, 2022
story
science museums

A ‘Weird’ Ancient Marine Reptile Surfaces Thanks to the ‘Bone Biddies’

The unique plesiosaur defies the fossil rulebook—just ask the “paleogrannies” who prepared it for study.
September 28, 2022
story
genetics

A Caribbean ‘Cow’ Tooth Could Solve the Mystery of the Chincoteague Ponies

A surprise discovery from Haiti may finally reveal how some famous feral horses got to a distant barrier island.
August 16, 2022
story
endangered species

The Next Generation of a Rare Frog Captured in a Poetic Portrait

Embryos of one of the world's most unusual amphibians become art in the eyes of a biologist and wildlife photographer.
August 2, 2022
story
plastic

Southern Spain’s ‘Sea of Plastic’ May Actually Cool the Local Climate

The world’s largest array of greenhouses has transformed the region economically, and in other, unforeseen ways.
July 15, 2022
story
evolution

Behold Meraxes, Argentina’s Ancient ‘Giant Dragon’

With a ‘Swiss Army knife’ head, tiny arms, and no relation to T. rex, a new dino find is providing intriguing evolutionary insights.
July 7, 2022
story
rodeo

Inside America's Premier Black Rodeo, A Celebration of Cowboy Culture

A photographer captures perseverance and pride over a decade of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.
June 28, 2022
story
megafauna

The Intriguing Life, Death, and Afterlife of an Indiana Mastodon

Scientists have pieced together a detailed biography—including a search for love and a violent end.
June 14, 2022
story
abstract wonder

The Curious Case of the Arctic Desert Island That's Not Actually an Island

No one is sure how this geological oddity got there.
May 31, 2022
story
ecology

Why a Wayward Coati’s Selfie on a Brazilian Airbase Surprised Scientists

The adorable appearance highlights an unexpected ally in conservation.
May 10, 2022
story
satellite

This Remote, Active Volcano Is a Glassblowing Spider

Alaska’s Great Sitkin has been grumbling for nearly a year.
April 28, 2022
story
great lakes

Are the Great Lakes Really Inland Seas?

Well, yes. And no. Actually, it depends on where you stand, in more ways than one.
April 27, 2022
story
abstract wonder

This Bird's Mating Dance Is Full of Stomp and Pomp

The great argus uses its unusual wing feathers to maximum, eye-catching effect.
April 13, 2022
story
abstract wonder

The Wild and Wonderful Whorls of Brash Ice

Wandering currents and spring thaws make sea ice in East Greenland look like curls of smoke.
April 8, 2022
story
pacific

What the World's Most Remote Islands Were Like Before Humans Arrived

Scientists dig deep for the lost bioscapes of the Marquesas Islands.
April 4, 2022
story
woman explorers

A Botanical Mystery Solved, After 146 Years

How a young illustrator’s attention to detail—and a determined Victorian woman's legacy—led to the discovery of a new species in an old painting.
March 29, 2022
story
women in conservation

The ‘Queen of the Mantas’ Who Became a Force of Nature

Lauded for her research on gentle giants of the sea, Andrea Marshall is using her fame to find hope for our troubled oceans.
March 25, 2022
story
women in conservation

The Anthropologist Who Has Spent 50 Years Protecting—and Learning From—Orangutans

Biruté Mary Galdikas has quietly fought on the frontlines of some of conservation’s biggest battles. 
March 24, 2022
story
women in conservation

The Keeper of Sacred Bees Who Took on a Giant

To save her native Maya bees and their shrinking forests, Leydy Pech waged a fierce campaign on multiple fronts.
March 23, 2022
story
women in conservation

The Wildlife Scientist Finding Innovation in Ancient Ideas

Biologist Serra Hoagland bridges Indigenous traditions and modern methods.
March 22, 2022
story
women in conservation

The Ecologist Who Made Biodiversity Count

Georgina Mace helped change the way both scientists and policymakers see living things, including the most vulnerable.
March 21, 2022
story
satellite

Wild Weather Has Turned Bolivia's Salt Flats Into a Work of Art

A satellite captures the stunning effects of heavy rain and high winds on a landscape that—coincidentally—is used to calibrate satellites.
March 10, 2022
story
travel

How to Connect With Nature Like a South African Wilderness Guide

Tragedy set Sicelo Mbatha on a course to understand, and make peace with, the wild on its own terms.
March 4, 2022
story
extinction

Did the Dinosaurs Die on a Pleasant North Dakota Spring Day?

Fish fossils may put "the single worst day for multicellular life on Earth" on the calendar.
February 23, 2022