gemmatarlach's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

gemmatarlach

I'm a former senior editor and writer at Atlas Obscura, certified forest and nature therapy guide, mead maker, and veteran of karaoke in Antarctica.

https://gemmatarlach.com/

2021
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The 2024 Nikon Small World Winners Are Big on Wonder

The beloved photomicrography competition celebrates its 50th year with bubbly cannabis plants, vivid cellular architecture, and...Grimace? Is that you?

October 17, 2024

ancient terrors

The Wendigo and 6 Other Ancient Monsters From Indigenous Folklore

These ancient terrors, from Australia’s bunyip to Brazil’s capelobo, still haunt—and hunt—us.

October 4, 2024

putting us in our place

The Wild Tale of the Cerutti Mastodon, a Fossil That Could Rewrite the Human Story

The Cerutti Mastodon, found near San Diego, shows signs of being butchered 130,000 years ago—but by who? Or what?

Catch the Summer Camp Vibe With Some of Our Favorite Podcast Episodes

Celebrate the season of adventure and savor all summer has to offer.

Atlas Obscura Goes to Summer Camp

Revisit the spirit of long days for exploring and nights by the campfire, toasting marshmallows and telling tales.

putting us in our place

How Indonesia’s Toba Volcano Changed Human Evolution

The massive supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago has been blamed for nearly killing off our species. The emerging truth is much more interesting.

putting us in our place

When Did Dogs Become Our Best Friends?

A poignant, 2,000-year-old burial in northern Italy could be the latest evidence of an ancient friendship.

countdown to the eclipse 2024

7 Great Eclipse Books to Inspire, Delight, and Prepare You for April 8

From wild page-turners of the eclipse-obsessed to a gentle children’s book for all ages.

putting us in our place

Where Did Humans Evolve? (Probably Not Where You’re Thinking)

For decades, East Africa was considered the birthplace of our species. Fossils from Morocco suggest otherwise.

February 22, 2024

As the Year of the Dragon Looms, We See Dragons Everywhere

This Lunar New Year welcomes the Wood Dragon, but these mythic animals never go out of style.

January 29, 2024

putting us in our place

How the Great Lakes Formed—And the Mystery of Who Watched It Happen

Skilled hunters adapted to the changing landscape and left tantalizing clues to who they were.

January 11, 2024

Half a Billion Years Ago, These ‘Terror Beasts’ Ruled the Seas

Spoiler alert: They’re giant worms.

January 4, 2024

year in wonder 2023

The Year in Wrecks, Lost Ships, and Underwater Discoveries

From unexpected treasure in Ukraine to a unique relic of the American Revolution, Captain Santa’s lost ship to digital dugouts.

December 27, 2023

Bookish Gifts for Literature Lovers

A giving guide from the Atlas Obscura team.

November 27, 2023

accessible travel

Accessible Independent Travel Is for All Ages and Abilities

See the world “any which way” you can, says a seasoned traveler in her 70s.

August 24, 2023

accessible travel

Adventure Is Accessible When You Think Outside the Box

Meet the Wisconsin woman wheeling around the world.

The World's Oldest Glaciers Are Buried Under South African Gold

2.9-billion-year-old evidence could be proof of a lost ice age—the first “Snowball Earth.”

Why Are There Three Twilights?

And we’re not talking about vampire books.

This Orlando Water Park Is Wild. No, Really.

At Orlando Wetlands Park, water goes for a ride—through a natural filtration process—and attracts birds, gators, and more.

Beltane Is About More Than Fire and Fertility

The ancient “Celtic” start of summer is rooted in animal husbandry—and it’s not on May 1.

abstract wonder

On Antarctica's Vega Island, a Grinning Skull Is the Face of Climate Change

Satellite imagery recently captured a dramatic view of shrinking glaciers and snow cover on the remote island.

Are the Benin Bronzes Made From German Brass—And Does It Matter?

The famous West African artworks, long at the center of repatriation debates, were made from materials sourced in Rhineland.

This Arctic Ichthyosaur Should Not Exist

A marine reptile fossil from Svalbard challenges ideas about evolution and Earth’s greatest mass extinction.

Marine Stratocumulus Clouds May Be the Most Important Clouds on Earth

These common formations create abstract designs and reveal important patterns of environmental change, big and small.