A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

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

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

An unfortunate geological resemblance to Satan has labeled this Pasadena gorge as a passage to the underworld.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

Experience a quartz crystal sound bath inside a storied, all-wood sound-chamber.

Historic marionette theater features thousands of handmade puppets and free cups of ice cream.

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

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

Stripes of flowers bloom each spring in a 50 acre rainbow of color.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

This strange seaside tower got its name from a wealthy eccentric who would hide coins among its stones.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

Giant Redwood-themed cafeteria operates under the golden rule, "Dine Free Unless Delighted."

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.