These black pillars of volcanic basalt seem to call mountain climbers with an unbreakable siren song.

This landmark is a central figure in the Nez Perce origin story.

Protected from the elements, these Native American rock paintings have survived approximately 250 years.

A nearly abandoned 19th-century town on the Palouse.

This former mining hub holds a surprising abundance of undisturbed relics from the Old West.

The large fjord lake is thought to be the home of "Ogopogo," a giant sea serpent.

A museum devoted entirely to the rattlesnakes and snake-related art.

The official atomic museum of the United States explores the explosive and productive history of a much maligned energy source.

An enormous pink granite batholith, long attributed with spiritual powers by the Tonkawa Indians.

A 131-year-old wunderkammer of Texas history.

Despite his legacy of work in Spain, Cuba, and Florida, the larger-than-life writer's grave is a simple affair tucked in an Idaho cemetery.

Home to the deepest rift anywhere on Earth.

This oddity shop contains everything from antique tools to a human skeleton.

A mysterious taxidermy man-beast of the seven seas.

Few other hotels can rival the grandeur of the Castle in the Rockies.

Natural rock water slides hidden in the remote forests of northern Idaho.

A giant light 13 feet high shines near Thomas Edison's old Menlo Park lab.

A huge musical sculpture and other art installations on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grounds.

Three columns of volcanic rock shoot out of the ocean.

This fantastical waterfall is hidden in a cave located in a cracked cliff.

This stunning concert hall has become a symbol of Iceland's national recovery.

The summer tourists on these cliffs are thousands of seabirds.

The largest whale museum in Europe allows visitors to walk among life-size giants.

If a glacial river suddenly diving into a sheer chasm via a dramatic, multi-stage waterfall isn't peak Iceland, it's certainly close.