Rising out of miles of farmland, these buttes are sometimes called the world's smallest mountain range.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

'Cause the fence start shaking, the earth was quaking.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

A hidden gem, named after a San Franciscan icon, offers spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

Inside an old airplane hangar, friends and strangers alike play on a massive trampoline.

Beneath the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge is the “Gibraltar of the West Coast,” a fort built to protect the San Francisco Bay from naval attack.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

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

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.