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Female lion
Amboy, California

Guardian Lions of Route 66

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.
The creator of the sign has yet to be found.
deserts

Found: A Mysterious SOS Sign in the Australian Outback

Someone may have been in distress—but how long ago?
Sarah Laskow May 26, 2017
Sand dunes in Lemnos.
Lemnos, Greece

Lemnos Sand Dunes

A miniature desert appears out of nowhere on the lush isle of Lemnos, like something out of a Greek myth.
Sunset over the pyramids of Meroë.
deserts

A New Look at the Little-Known Pyramids of Ancient Nubia

A photographer’s journey deep into the Sudanese desert.
Anika Burgess May 3, 2017
The Berm, Western Sahara
Mauritania

Moroccan Western Sahara Wall

This fortified sand barrier dividing a contested territory is the longest minefield in the world.
Marie Byrd Land.
Antarctica

Marie Byrd Land

The largest piece of no man's land left on Earth.
Samir Lama (1931–2004) memorial, Samir Lama Rock, Western Desert, Egypt
Egypt

Samir Lama Memorials

Scattered monuments in the middle of the Sahara dedicated to the late Egyptian actor and desert explorer.
Bir Zekreet, and one of the film location structures.
Zekreet, Qatar

Bir Zekreet

Some of the ancient-looking huts among these strange rock formations aren't ancient at all, but built as part of a movie set.
Tovrea Castle, surrounded by cacti.
Phoenix, Arizona

Tovrea Castle

A mysterious "wedding cake" castle in the middle of the urban desert.
Fairy circles are found in Namibia.
science

Scientists Have a New Idea About the Origins of Namibia's Fairy Circles

Two competing theories could both be true: Termites and plants both contribute to the circles' creation.
Sarah Laskow January 18, 2017
Permanently Closed
Qesm Sharm Ash Sheikh, Egypt

End of the World Cinema

An abandoned outdoor movie theater in the Sinai desert.
Uno Rondinone's desert art installation, Seven Magic Mountains.
outsider art

An Art Lover's Guide to Nevada

There are strange and beautiful creations in the desert and beyond.
Looking east across the Chihuahua desert, near the Zona del Silencio.
meteorites

Exploring Mexico’s Zone of Silence, Where Radio Signals Fail and Meteorites Crash

The Mexican version of the Bermuda Triangle has its fair share of alien rumors.
T.E. Wilson November 3, 2016
Salvador Dalí Desert.
Sur Lípez, Bolivia

Salvador Dalí Desert

A desert that evokes the surreal.
The dugouts in July 2010, before they were destroyed
Salmon, Idaho

Dugout Dick Memorial

An Idaho legend carved out a cave village with his own two hands.
deserts

What's This Strange Patch in the Australian Desert?

It appeared in the fall of 2015.
Sarah Laskow September 28, 2016
Arch
Kayenta, Arizona

Mystery Valley

Ancestral Puebloan ruins, natural arches, and box canyons abound in this seldom-visited corner of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.
deserts

A Chinese Billionaire is Likely Behind a Huge Aluminum Stockpile in the Mexican Desert

Almost six percent of the world's supply.
Erik Shilling September 9, 2016