The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

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

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

This famous bridge twisted itself into oblivion, but not for the reason you might think.

Twice a year, visitors can tour the desolate site that birthed the Atomic Age.

Twenty-seven massive radio antennas on the high plains of New Mexico search for life on other planets.

Collection of vintage trailers double as hotel rooms.

An old saloon in the West filled with history, and according to some, a few dozen ghosts.

A wild west cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, provides a window into the Old West.

America's only nuclear missile silo open to the public.

Oldest building in California still in use.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

Named after a bandit and the star of several Hollywood prehistoric landscapes, these sandstone formations are a historical part of the Los Angeles natural landscape.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The rocks in this arid basin leave trails of movement behind them.

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

Historical trolley restoration and operation at History San Jose, Kelly Park.

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.