Deep vertical fissures like miniature slot canyons cut across the cemented volcanic rock of Black Point above Mono Lake.

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

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

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

“It's the quality” (but probably also the drive-through donut tunnel) that has attracted diners since 1968.

Hundreds of trees made from glass bottles make up this forest on Route 66.

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

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

Costumed elves and mountain bikers co-exist peacefully at this abandoned Christmas-themed adventure park.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

This Pringle-shaped ledge makes for the perfect photo op.

A wondrous place to watch a special flower bloom.

While you're unlikely to find riches here these days, this remote mine is a time capsule of the Gold Rush era.

Crumbling pink walls and murder memorials preserve the pioneer history of Joshua Tree.

The quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

This general store offers visitors a glimpse back into the 1930s.

An off-grid art installation that encourages its visitors to imagine a world without waste.

A quiet marker in memory of local men and women lost in WWI.

San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.

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