A massive hydrovolcanic explosion left a half-mile wide crater in Death Valley.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

Crumbling pink walls and murder memorials preserve the pioneer history of Joshua Tree.

Ancient human, animal, and geometric figures drawn in the earth.

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

This little gem of Spanish Colonial architecture has been abandoned since the 1950s.

360-degree virtual reality chamber physically immerses scientists into their data.

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

A B&B on a Victorian lighthouse station in San Francisco Bay.

A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.

The space-age building is home to one of the few remaining rotating restaurants in America, and the only one that inspired a 1980s sitcom.

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

A visionary, futuristic sculpture in Los Angeles that never met its extraterrestrial potential.

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

What began with a single, 357-pound chunk of the Canyon Diablo meteorite grew to be an impressive collection. 

The largest cemetery in the American Southeast is a hidden gem near the heart of Atlanta.

Just a few miles from downtown Atlanta is a trail covered in a crazy collection of outsider art.

Just your average Marie Antoinette–themed speakeasy in an abandoned 19th-century subway tunnel.

The world's oldest hologram gallery and the labyrinthine laser laboratory of a holography pioneer.