Here's something you don't see every day — hundreds of new islands have been discovered around the world. Orphans of the atla: Point Roberts, Wash., is a prime example of a kind of geographical feature that was once quite common but has now almost vanished from world maps. In Greenland, an Arctic growth story: The Danish possession has high hopes for this summer's oil drilling. Ultra-travelers aim to conquer the world: For travel fanatics competing for the title of "world's most traveled person", inaccessible places are must-see destinations, as part of the ever-growing list of the world's countries and territories. Plastic Islands: Cleaning up the seas by creating artificial landmasses. Atlas Obscura visits the Third Tunnel of Aggression, a passage below the world's most dangerous border, and Lake Nyos, the deadliest lake in the world. Mayotte moves to modernity: Island group in Indian Ocean becomes the latest departement of France, despite the latter's indifference. Dispatch from a Shrinking Planet: Google Earth, cell phones, and the Internet are all making the world seem smaller — but the illusion of close contact makes travel more important than ever. An underwater "river" has been discovered snaking along the ocean bed off southwestern Australia. The most murderous countries are safer than you think: Why travelers don't have to be so afraid of Mexican resorts, the Philippines, and other "dangerous" places. Sardinia hosts several extraordinary grottos that, hidden since ancient times, have had to wait geological ages before being discovered and explored by man. Life's Little Mysteries looks at the most mysterious places on the seas. Frank Jacobs on Northwest Angles: One exclave may hide another. Between cellphones, Google Earth, and jumbo jets, it seems there's nowhere in the world left to explore, but travel books still have something to tell us.
