A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

A gothic palace of endless stalagmites and pseudoscorpions waits within one of the world's most beautiful caves.

Two tall rocks sit at the center of this site, once the home of a large Ancestral Puebloan community.

A volcanic cone that formed over 600 years ago.

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

A natural dome made of volcanic glass in Inyo National Forest.

A large lava tube that can be walked through with no special equipment.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

This museum offers an actual time machine back through Colorado's past.

These huge stone ovens in the desert fueled the Nevada silver boom, and may have also been a hideout for outlaws.

This former mining railroad is one of the best-preserved short lines in North America.

Often mistaken for an office building, inside this venue is an amazing collection of Native Alaskan art.

A rare chance to get up close and personal with a 13-mile ribbon of ice near downtown Juneau.

Upside-down trees serve as natural flower pots in this hanging garden of Alaska.

A museum devoted entirely to hammers has more than 1,400 items on display dating back to the Romans.

The ruins of this Alaska gold mine form a gorgeous ghost town.

An organ located deep within a cave, whose "pipes" are the geological features of the cave itself.

For just a few bucks, this Iowa funicular will let you feel like an 1800s fat cat.

One of just a few cities in the world to base their center of government on an island. Others: Paris and Osaka.

The park that the Chicago Stockyards built.