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The Ga Hiti in the Thamel neighborhood is one of many spouts that provide life-giving water to the people of Kathmandu.
fountains

The Lost Waters of Kathmandu Are Needed Now More Than Ever

To prevent drought and save water, Nepal is turning back to 1,500-year-old fountains—with the help of a few snakes.
Tulsi Rauniyar September 14, 2023
Our first place winner is Mark Yuan's photograph of an Allen's hummingbird drinking water droplets in Fremont, California.
animals

Our Final Summer Snaps Photo Contest Winners: Wildlife

For the last days of summer, we're going au naturel!
Winnie Lee September 12, 2023
Costa Rican designs for oxcarts are iconic and can be spotted throughout the country. The intricate patterns represent birds and foliage found in the dense forests, as well as spear tips from Indigenous and Aztec designs, and colors represent different regions.
art

A Look Inside the Last Colorful Oxcart Factory in Costa Rica

Uriel Alfaro Castro shows his handmade Aztec wheels, which outperformed European designs.
Sarah Yeoman September 5, 2023
abandoned

The Surprising Second Life of an Abandoned Victorian Sea Fort

“We want it to feel like you’re exploring something for the first time.”
Roxanne Hoorn August 31, 2023
An Indian eagle owl in the French Pyrenees.
animals

Go Wild! Share Your Favorite Animal Pictures and Win!

We want to see your wildlife encounters, for Atlas Obscura’s next Summer Snaps photo contest.
Winnie Lee August 22, 2023
Our first place winner is Abdul Dremali's photograph of the Milky Way with moai figures on Easter Island, Chile!
photography

Our Second Summer Snaps Photo Contest Winners: Night Views

These magical images from our readers will inspire you to appreciate night vision.
Winnie Lee August 17, 2023
First place: Gary Schatan's photograph of huge alligator and gramophone in San Francisco Bay, California.
roadside attractions

Our First Summer Snaps Photo Contest Winners: Roadside Attractions

May these amazing shots inspire you to hit the road!
Winnie Lee August 1, 2023
Long exposures can be key to capturing the grandeur of the Milky Way, seen here at Hollow Rock in Lake Superior off the coast of Minnesota.
photography

Seeing Stars? Share Your Favorite Shot of a Summer Night and Win!

Show us your best shots from after darkness falls, for Atlas Obscura’s next Summer Snaps photo contest.
Winnie Lee July 19, 2023
Nature’s Window in Kalbarri National Park, Western Australia. The rock arch is one of the state’s iconic natural attractions, formed from layers of Tumblagooda Sandstone.
astronomy

Tips for the Best Milky Way Images, From a Photographer Obsessed With It

Stanley Aryanto took a once-in-a-lifetime photo of the Milky Way, Comet NEOWISE, and auroras thanks to planning, patience, and luck. Now he's sharing what he knows.
Emily Dieckman June 27, 2023
One of the roadside Cabazon Dinosaurs off Highway 10, near Palm Springs, California.
roadside attractions

On the Road? Share Your Pics of Roadside Attractions and Win!

We want to see your road trip wonders for Atlas Obscura’s first photo contest—Summer Snaps.
Winnie Lee June 8, 2023
On the foggy morning of July 22, 1906, <em>King Cadwallon</em> struck rocks off the coast of St Martin's Island. A photographer from the Gibson family boarded a rowboat to get this image before the ship sank completely beneath the waves.
shipwrecks

One English Family Took Photos of Shipwrecks for More Than a Century

Now it's the negatives themselves that need to be saved from time and the elements.
April White June 2, 2023
<em>There is a Future</em>, 2020
collections

Reclaiming Georgia's Stone Mountain Through Haunting Landscape Images

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright wanted to find a new way of seeing the site and its connection to centuries of racism.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing April 21, 2023
islands

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.
Gemma Tarlach April 12, 2023
In the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles archipelago, this aerial shot from April 2015 shows sargassum seaweed creeping toward a beach on Grande-Terre, which is part of the island of Guadeloupe, one of France's overseas <em>départements</em>.
beach

10 Photos of Seaweed Blobs That Will Blow Your Mind

As a supersized sargassum bloom heads toward Florida and the Caribbean, we take a closer look at past big blobs.
Sarah Durn April 5, 2023
In an undated photo, American artist Keith Haring works on the colorful carousel he designed for the original 1987 Luna Luna. The carousel features three-dimensional characters based on the line-drawn figures he became famous for.
amusement parks

The Once and Future Luna Luna Art Amusement Park

Basquiat’s Ferris wheel, Dalí’s fun house, and other wild and whimsical designs are now being restored thanks in part to rap superstar Drake.
Sarah Durn March 28, 2023
Coleman's shrimp (<em>Periclimenes colemani</em>) like these live on fire sea urchins. The shrimp are usually found in male/female pairs, where females are the larger of the two, and perch on sea urchins where they feed on plankton, algae, and parasites.
underwater

How the Best Underwater Photography Reveals a World of Wonder

Welcome to the home of pink coral-scapes and fluorescent lizardfish.
Sarah Durn March 23, 2023
Photographer Aakash Selvan used a drone to to capture this "Floating Islands" image of living <em>phumdis</em> on northeastern India's Loktak Lake.
islands

Can Loktak Lake's Wondrous Floating Islands Bounce Back?

A photographer's drone's-eye image of the famous phumdis of northeastern India shows a unique environment undergoing change.
Gemma Tarlach January 31, 2023
Nicknamed Nalangu, this leopard had just finished feeding her cub when she took a moment to stretch at the bottom of a river bed. Leopards can prove especially challenging to photograph because they're mostly active at night.
nature

Kenya’s Maasai Mara Wildlife Reserve Is a Photographer’s Playground

At least while the lions behave.
Sarah Durn February 6, 2023