Explore 345 Deserts Collections - Atlas Obscura
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The lake.
San Bernardino County, California

Searles Lake

This sun-scorched lakebed contains samples of half the natural elements known to humankind.
Camels.
Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates

Million Street

Every December, this stretch of dusty desert road transforms into a catwalk for a camel beauty pageant.
Nashtifan, Iran

Nashtifan Windmills

The vertical-axis windmills of ancient Persia have been grinding flour for 1,000 years and counting.
Cabot's Pueblo Museum
Desert Hot Springs, California

Cabot's Pueblo Museum

The Hopi-style structure was built by the man who discovered Desert Hot Springs' famous mineral water.
Escamoles, i.e. velvety tree ant eggs, pan-fried in butter.
Gastro Obscura

Escamoles

The eggs of "the farty ant" have earned a reputation as the caviar of the desert.
deserts

A Surprise 'Desierto Florido' Is Growing in the Atacama Desert

The colorful phenomenon came ahead of schedule.
Cara Giaimo August 24, 2017
Fran Baxter stands outside her seasonal antiques shop in Christmas Valley, which was once the location of Phillips's office.
deserts

The 1960s Real Estate Mirage of Christmas Valley

Developer M. Penn Phillips had a vision for the Oregon high desert. But there was a reason the area had yet to be developed.
Hannah Steinkopf-Frank August 18, 2017
Permanently Closed
A close up view of Curves and Zigzags at a sharp angle
Palm Desert, California

Curves and Zigzags

A black and white painted wall creates an optical illusion in the California desert.
Sparks with the skull in situ.
deserts

A Kid Found a 1.2-Million-Year-Old Stegomastodon Fossil by Tripping Over It

It was a whole skull!
Sarah Laskow July 19, 2017
One of Luca Tombolini's desertscapes.
deserts

The Abstract Beauty of One of the World's Harshest Climates

The desert, as you’ve never seen it before.
Anika Burgess July 19, 2017
cemeteries

Found: Tower Tombs in an Empty Desert

An archaeological project has found hundreds of gravesite cairns in Jordan.
Sarah Laskow July 13, 2017
The Shambala.
Urgun, Mongolia

Khamriin Khiid

Mongolian Buddhists believe this monastery in the Gobi desert to be the center of the world's spiritual energy.
20-mule team from viewing platform
Boron, California

Borax Visitor Center

Everything you always wanted to know about borates is here.
The Paisano Pete statue
Fort Stockton, Texas

Paisano Pete

The second largest roadrunner in the world stands 11 feet tall in his West Texas town.
Fonts Point
Borrego Springs, California

Fonts Point

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.
Amboy, California

Guardian Lions of Route 66

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.
The creator of the sign has yet to be found.
deserts

Found: A Mysterious SOS Sign in the Australian Outback

Someone may have been in distress—but how long ago?
Sarah Laskow May 26, 2017
Early in the morning after a windy night
Lemnos, Greece

Lemnos Sand Dunes

A miniature desert appears out of nowhere on the lush isle of Lemnos, like something out of a Greek myth.