The ruins of a failed dam that was built over land later described as a "sponge."

The world's last remaining store of its kind.

Atop an active stratovolcano, two lakes separated by a narrow strip of land.

California's oldest wind harp represents a historic piece of America's Danish history.

In the "Danish Capital of America," a replica of one of Copenhagen's most iconic buildings.

Honoring the famed folktale author, this California museum looks like it belongs in the Black Forest.

A popular winter vacation destination for migrating monarch butterflies.

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

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.

The echoes of a railroad town that solemnly mark the end of the line.

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

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

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

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

Back in the day everyone who was anyone played this historic western theater.

Beneath a Virginia City bar is the entrance to an abandoned gold mine.

What once housed a private club catering to Comstock Lode elite is now considered one of the West’s most haunted spaces.

The oldest hotel in Nevada.

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

A simple plaque remembers a California island massacre that claimed more than 100 lives.

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

Two mammoth statues inspired by equally tall tales lure tourists to this roadside attraction.

This 19th-century museum inside of a lighthouse is only accessible during low tide.

On the Oregon coast is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.