At this deceptively beautiful beach, nothing is what it seems.

This little valley along Highway 1 is engulfed by thousands of lilies during the spring season.

Over 300 taxidermied animals in a Californian restaurant make for a taxidermist's dream and an animal lover's nightmare.

A lawless town deep in Death Valley was famous for its riches and death rate.

This store is dedicated to unique found footage and the strangeness of pre-internet pop-culture.

An iconic location along the Los Angeles River where countless movie scenes are filmed.

A ring of creosote bushes that are estimated to be 11,700 years old.

Inky sludge oozes to the surface of this beach thanks to a rare natural tar seep.

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

The sea once considered an ecological wasteland is now called "crown jewel of avian biodiversity" by scientists.

A stranded woman lived alone on this remote island for 18 years, inspiring the great children's novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

An artist's vision for connectivity spans seven continents and 16 countries.

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall but rather lightning.

Nationwide network of co-ownership underground catastrophe shelters.

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

Salt is slowly eating away this abandoned saltworks town in the desert.

The hundreds of movies and television shows shot in this high desert town are commemorated in a unique museum.

The only thing stranger than stumbling onto these philosophical musings is the story of the homesteader who created them.

This sun-scorched lakebed contains samples of half the natural elements known to humankind.

Former 1954 Del Mar Train Station now serves signature cocktails and delightful culinary treats, and still operates as a Metro stop.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.