361 Items Tagged

Climate Change

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

Lake Powell, Utah

Gregory Natural Bridge

This natural sandstone bridge hasn't been seen since the 1960s when Lake Powell covered it—until now.

Why Won't These Icebergs Leave Canada Alone? | Untold Earth

Data from NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite, or ICESat, show elevation across Antarctica. The low elevations on the left side show how the Weddell and Ross Seas were one connected.

Octopuses (and Their DNA) Suggest Antarctica Will Melt Again

Two geographically separate populations of cute cephalopods once mated a very long time ago.

Frank Jacobs June 9, 2023

Berlin is home to more than half the world's working gas streetlamps. They first illuminated Unter den Linden, Berlin’s central boulevard, almost two centuries ago.

The Last Days of Berlin's Gas Streetlamps

Looking at the German city in a different light.

Alex Rennie June 1, 2023

Podcast: Koutammakou

Can the stunning earth-tower homes of Togo and Benin be saved?

The Podcast Team May 31, 2023

In 11th-century England, people used more than half a million eels in rental payments.

To Pay Rent in Medieval England, Catch Some Eels

The “Surprised Eel Historian” has mapped every eel rent recorded in medieval England.

Leah Hudson May 18, 2023

Pando, called simply The Tree by those who know it best—and love it most—is a single organism that covers an area larger than 100 football fields.

Pando As You've Never Seen It Before

The Utah aspen grove is one of the world's oldest and largest living things. It's finally getting its close-up.

Amiee Maxwell May 16, 2023