This rock formation named for its unique shape is one of many that call the Alabama Hills home.

The second-largest giant sequoia in the world.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

The first declared National Monument in the United States.

A dangerous narrow-gauge railroad once traced a route through this striking canyon.

More than 21,000 images fill this overlooked gem of a prehistoric site.

This is one really big nut.

Few things look more out of place than the electric blue ponds in the reddish-brown desert of Utah.

The fifth-longest natural arch in the world, and the longest outside China.

Odd outsider art installations surround a Gold Rush-era ghost town.

Twelve plaster figures inspired by da Vinci's famed painting haunt the desert landscape above a real-life ghost town.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

A cosmic pit stop just beyond the notorious Area 51.

This enormous fiberglass cow near Death Valley National Park once graced a casino roof in Las Vegas.

Narrow slot canyons in a badland eroded into soft sedimentary rock provide an otherworldly landscape in this remote Nevada state park.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

Once a menacing challenge for trailblazers, this trail is now the most scenic drive in Utah.

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

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

One of the world’s largest collections of petroglyphs records 2,000 years of human activity.

An eerie natural formation that looks right back at you.

Dyed by iron oxide over centuries, these sandstone rocks rise thousands of feet into the sky.