Thanks to everyone that has helped us get off to an amazing start this year - we could not have done it without you. We are hatching plans and looking forward to lots of exciting new things this year for the Atlas and beyond.

To close out the old year and welcome the new, here’s a rundown of our most popular places added to the Atlas in 2009:

A Fiery crater that has been burning for 38 years

Centuries-old bridges, grown from tangled roots

A 1940s mermaid show is still enchanting visitors

The world’s second largest hole

Each year, this unique river blooms in a dazzling multi-colored display

North Korea’s massive “Hotel of Doom”

Baffling rock formations from an earlier era

Self-made house sculpture of an outsider artist who proclaimed himself “Chief Rolling Thunder”

Mysterious glowing orbs float through the desert night

A giant Troll lurks under a Seattle bridge overpass