A barbarous band of serpents guard the bases of these Aztec temples.

Two waterfalls flow down the cliff faces decorated with rare natural basalt columns.

This volcano rises like a giant anthill from the plains below, with a road spiraling up to the rim.

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

The land is full of geologic eye candy, such as otherworldly spires, mushroom-shaped hoodoos, and prehistoric fossils.

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

Costa Rican accommodation resembles a crash site, but with a nice balcony.

A colorful collection of scavenged glass bells decorates this Canadian ranch.

The mountaintop wind turbine boasts a viewing deck — and a fair share of controversy.

Lake within a lake.

A large spinning bath of liquid mercury, used to probe the early universe.

These powerful, if squat, Canadian waterfalls flow in different directions depending on the time of day.

Artistic cabins actually grow deep in the Canadian wilderness.

Cascading outward, this waterfall creates the appearance of a flowing veil.

This ghost-town bar has bullet holes and plenty of stories lurking within its walls.

The most northerly active sand dunes in the world have some very rare botanical residents.

Stunning views over Ontario's old-growth pine forests.

An abandoned logging settlement nestled in the woods near a popular ski town.

These hellish-looking cliffs in the Canadian Arctic have been burning for centuries.

Hundreds of enormous icebergs drift through this waterway every year.

A surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once mantled most of Western Canada's mountains.

The world's largest and most outstanding marl lake regularly changes color.

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's Victorian Gastown.

Railways may have forged this quintet of lovely tunnels, but now they are open to hikers.