pacific's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.
Chicago, Illinois

The Secret Mermaid

This unauthorized stone mermaid was secretly carved out of public stone before being permanently preserved.
Barcelona, Spain

Park Güell

Gaudí's famously flamboyant architectural style is on full display in this sprawling park and garden.
San Diego, California

Spruce Street Suspension Bridge

An inconspicuous footbridge beloved by San Diego locals.
Sisters, Oregon

Lost Lake

This lake in the Cascades lives up to its name, disappearing down a hole every spring.
Los Angeles, California

Angels Flight

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.
San Francisco, California

Palace of Fine Arts

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.
Wiltshire, England

Longleat Hedge Maze

The longest hedge maze in the world.
Duffield, Virginia

Virginia's Natural Tunnel

A 300-yard long natural tunnel runs through a ridge deep in the Appalachian Mountains.
Kerry, Ireland

Skellig Michael

Perfectly preserved ancient monastery in an impossibly dramatic location on a rocky island in the Atlantic.
Lohmen, Germany

The Bastei

Ruins of a German Castle on top of a towering stone pillar.
London, England

Kyoto Garden

A little slice of Japan and its aesthetics in London's Holland Park.
Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Gearrannan Blackhouse Village

Spend the night in this formerly abandoned traditional Scottish village.
Cañon City, Colorado

Royal Gorge Bridge

The highest bridge in America was built for an almost unnervingly small amount of money.
Sandwick, Scotland

Skara Brae

Amazing and mysterious Neolithic settlement on Scotland's Orkney Islands.
New York, New York

Berlin Wall Section

A celebration of capitalism in Midtown.
Venice, Italy

The Mad Colored Houses of Burano

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.
New York, New York

Marilyn Monroe's Subway Grate

This unmarked and unloved Manhattan subway grate created one of the most iconic images in American cinema.
Oracle, Arizona

Biosphere 2

A reproduction of earth's many biomes.
New York, New York

The New York Earth Room

A room in New York City that contains 250 cubic yards of dirt worth a million dollars.
Jordan

Petra

An ancient capital city that dates back 3,000 years old and harbors many surprises.
Nagasaki, Japan

Gunkanjima Island

Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town.
London, England

Word on the Water

This 1920s Dutch barge is now a floating bookstore.
Iceland

Hvítserkur

Rising from the sea like a stone monster.