349 Items Tagged

Climate Change

Each air bubble says so much about life and death on Earth.

Gas Trapped in Antarctic Ice Recorded the Mass Death of 56 Million People

Plagues, war, and genocide were literally frozen in time.

Meg St-Esprit March 14, 2024

In the waters beyond La Palma's Cumbre Nueva mountains (shown here), San Borondón is said to appear to the west of the Canary Islands archipelago.

In the Canary Islands, a Mysterious Phantom Isle Haunts Local Imagination

The legend of San Borondón all started with an Irish saint.

Cat Rainsford February 9, 2024

Podcast: Moynaq

A city in Uzbekistan that was once a port is now in the middle of a desert.

The Podcast Team February 6, 2024

High-altitude archaeologist Constanza Ceruti climbs towards the highest archaeological site on Earth at the top of the 22,110-foot-tall Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina.

In High Altitude Archaeology, One Woman Isn’t Scared of Heights—Or Mummies

Even when those mummies still have skin, hair, and clothing.

Laura Kiniry February 2, 2024

Captain Heather Friedli puts the final touches on Team Kwe's sculpture, "Wenabozho and Dadibaajimad Journey on the River of Souls."

This Team of Indigenous Women Sculpts Stories in Snow

Team Kwe honors their Anishinaabe roots in the art and sport of snow sculpting.

Roxanne Hoorn February 1, 2024

The Northern bald ibis, 'waldrapp' in German, seen in 2018.

Wonder Is Everywhere: Silk Dress Secret, the Last Lightkeeper, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White January 5, 2024

And you thought yellow snow was bad.

The Strange Case of Antarctica’s Red and Green Snow

It’s not a Christmas trick, but the colorful effect could change everything.

Frank Jacobs December 1, 2023

Te Matua Ngahere—"Father of the Forest"—a giant kauri tree growing in the Waipoua Forest of New Zealand, is the second-largest of its kind.

Wonder Is Everywhere: The World’s Oldest Trees, the Heaviest Ball of Twine, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White October 27, 2023

Scientists estimate there are some 4,000 bees native to the United States alone—but many of them are struggling to survive in our warming, pesticide-ridden world.

To Save America's Native Bees, the Oregon Bee Project Is Mapping Every Single One

The project aims to make a complete 'bee atlas,' detailing every single local pollinator.

Kate Raphael September 22, 2023

Heinabergslón

A little-known, yet charming glacial lagoon.

Wisconsin's Wolf River, which flows through the Menominee Indian Reservation, where Indigenous traditions guide sustainable forestry.

In Wisconsin, the Menominee Tribe's Sustainable Forestry Is Visible From Space

The Menominee Tribe's tradition of doing "what's best for the forest" has become a global model for sustainability.

Fred Pearce September 11, 2023

All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Climate, Changed

AO Puzzles September 11, 2023

Georgetown, South Carolina

Hobcaw Barony

This former hunting grounds that once attracted U.S. presidents and other luminaries. Now it’s a privately owned research reserve dedicated to environmental sciences.

Wild bluebells, native to the area, are thriving once more on Eoghan Daltun's land on Ireland's Beara Peninsula.

Rewilding His Corner of Ireland's Beara Peninsula Is One Man's Labor of Love

Eoghan Daltun has spent 14 years creating a showcase of native biodiversity.

Rory Carroll August 21, 2023

Daniel Hogan and Eli Schwat tow a sled of gear out to the Kettle Ponds study site this March.

The Curious Case of the Colorado River’s Missing Water

Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river.

Bella Biondini August 7, 2023

A jumping spider in Manila, Philippines.

Wonder Is Everywhere: Spider Wrestling, the Return of the Giant Peanut, and More from Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.

April White August 4, 2023

Fireflies glow along Japan's Hino River some 450 miles west of Tokyo.

How A ‘Firefly Course’ Is Saving Japan’s Favorite Glowing Insect

At the Moriyama City Firefly Forest Museum, nurturing Genji fireflies comes with homework.

Shoshi Parks July 25, 2023

South Africa's northeastern region is a complex landscape of savanna, forest, and dramatic mountains, such as eMhlongamvula. The varied landscapes sit on massive gold deposits and some of the oldest continental crust on the planet.

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.”

Gemma Tarlach July 12, 2023