Deserts - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

316 Items Tagged

Deserts

Share Tweet
Balladonia, Australia

Balladonia Heritage Museum

A chunk of Skylab debris adorns this small museum at a roadside motel in Western Australia.
Rimrock, Arizona

Montezuma Well

This sinkhole in the Arizona desert is filled with carbonated, arsenic-rich water
Written and Photographed by Matt Payne
railroads

Colorado Winter Wonderland

Pack your snowshoes and see the Centennial State like never before. We hand-picked a collection of unique Colorado destinations transformed by glistening frost and white snow.
deserts

Podcast: Tumbleweed Christmas Tree

This is how you do the holidays in the desert.
The Podcast Team December 19, 2022
Las Vegas, Nevada

Tule Springs Fossil Beds

This arid landscape was once a lush wetland. Today, it's a paleontological site filled with fossilized mammoths, sabertooth cats, and more.
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
deserts

Puzzle Monday: Just Deserts Crossword

AO Puzzles September 19, 2022
It's not just a print. It's a story.
deserts

How a Bedouin Tracker Sees the Desert

On a seemingly blank, sandy canvas, signs and symbols abound.
Gitit Ginat September 1, 2022
Red Desert Nature Reserve
Port Edward, South Africa

Red Desert

Is this 200-meter-wide nature reserve the smallest desert in the world?
Looking due east across the crater; vehicle for scale.
Duckwater, Nevada

Meteorite Crater

Despite the name, it's unclear if this small depression in northern Nye County was actually caused by falling space debris.
Mesquite Canopy
Tucson, Arizona

Agua Caliente Park

Previously a hot spring, this park remains a site of unique history, wildlife, and geology.
Tribal symbols known as <em>wusum</em> attest to the ongoing presence of Bedouins in the desert.
desert art

The 6,000-Year Story of the Negev Desert Is Etched in Stone

Millennia of rock art offer a library of human history in the Levant.
Gitit Ginat July 18, 2022
Devil's Throat, looking more or less easterly.
Bunkerville, Nevada

Devil's Throat

An unexpected sinkhole in a desert flat within Gold Butte National Monument.
The Sahara? Nope. Bunge Land, a geological curiosity north of Siberia, at the edge of the Laptev Sea.
islands

The Curious Case of the Arctic Desert Island That's Not Actually an Island

No one is sure how this geological oddity got there.
Gemma Tarlach May 31, 2022
An aerial view of some of the fields at Wadi al-Dawasir.
Wadi ad-Dawasir, Saudi Arabia

Wadi al-Dawasir

These desert alfalfa farms redefine the meaning of crop circles.
Hadiyah, Saudi Arabia

Hadiyah Railway Station

Once a major stop on the Hejaz Railway, this desert station (complete with steam locomotive) has been abandoned for decades.
The Arch, yes you can climb over it
Al Reeth, Saudi Arabia

Jabal al Qahar

Climbing the "mountain of frustration" is no easy feat.
Saudi Arabia

Wadi-e Jinn

A phenomenon that appears to make gravity work in reverse has been attributed to jinn, supernatural spirits from Arabian folklore.
Robert "Robby" Silk—the first and, for now, only competitive chair-sitter—tests his stamina on Antarctica's Cuverville Island.
deserts

Meet the Man Who Wants to Make Sitting an Extreme Sport

A day at your desk will not prepare you for this grueling competition.
Laura Kiniry April 12, 2022