Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

Under the right circumstances, this waterfall in Yosemite briefly turns a luminescent fiery orange.

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

Oh, just a motel on the edge of the desert decorated with thousands of clowns conveniently located next to an abandoned graveyard.

Water of undetermined depth has attracted rare fish and cult leaders alike.

Marta Becket's hand-painted theater in the desert.

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

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

One of the last free public hot springs is decorated with hippie art.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

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

This ramshackle ghost town is comprised of mining-era buildings collected from around the region.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

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

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

This crumbling Death Valley mining complex was known for its use of giant, 20-mule team wagons.

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

Ten 25-foot-tall, beehive-shaped kilns, abandoned in Death Valley.

A small research station sits at the summit of this mountain, which is one of the few U.S. peaks higher than 14,000 feet outside of the Sierra Nevada.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

This small shack near the entrance to Sequoia National Park has been in almost continuous operation for the last century.

Once thought to be the oldest living tree in the world, Methuselah was germinated before the Egyptian pyramids were built.

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.