Before becoming a public park, this spot was a shell midden, a fort, and an amusement park.

This marine reptile was discovered by one of the 19th century's greatest fossil hunters.

The "lost friend” is the most famous of the six moai statues that were removed from Easter Island.

This enormous spiral sculpture looks strangely out of place on the edge of a housing development.

The blinking light atop the iconic landmark has been sending secret messages for decades.

This memorial to World War II's fallen airmen shows us the movements of the stars that once guided them.

This English medieval castle is where King John died of dysentery.

The English Civil War began right here in 1642.

This 40-room dwelling tucked within a cliff was built by the basin's prehistoric residents.

The South's nickname was supposedly born at a former bank in New Orleans' French Quarter.

A striking 500-year-old mansion provides an unexpectedly sublime home for live deer and a menagerie of exotic stuffed animals.

The bizarre headgear looks like it was made for a fool, not a king.

The awe-inspiring ship from the golden era of cruising has an incomparable history and a reputation as one of the world’s most haunted places.

Lord Byron's embalmed body lies within this medieval church.

Artists and musicians now rule over this former rail station.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

Despite time, colonization, and the brutal New Mexican heat, these Pueblo ruins still stand.

A phenomenal assembly of pueblos in New Mexico is the most complete example of ancient ruins north of the border.

Legends surround this jagged rock formation in the New Mexico desert.

This New Orleans statue of a portly figure in a goofy hat pays homage to a classic of satirical literature.

This knobby, drooping New Orleans oak is a favorite place both for climbing and for meeting giraffes.