Oldest building in California still in use.

Megachurch turned Catholic church comprised of 10,000 glass panes.

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

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

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

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

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

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.

The oldest working mechanical clock in the world.

This legendary stone is of unknown origin, and throughout history has been a literal touchstone for British leaders.

Hear the quietest sound from across the dome.

Famously misunderstood wonder of the ancient world

A century and a half of research in the sciences and natural history, still going strong.

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

The oldest volcanology research center in the world.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

A sulfuric hellscape in southern Italy.

Italy's "New Mountain" rose from the ground in a volcanic eruption in 1538.