At the time of its completion, it was the tallest dam in the world.

This plaza is home to a number of works, including Montpellier‘s own Arc de Triomphe.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

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

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

The largest dune field in the Mojave offers a chance of hearing the 'singing sands.'

Finally the worlds of UFO enthusiasts and beef jerky lovers have come together in this roadside shop.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

Brightly colored 30-foot-tall totems light up the desert sky just outside Las Vegas.

This former shopping outlet is now adorned with beautiful graffiti and murals.

The world’s largest concentrated solar plant generates as many problems as megawatts.

An enormous illuminated figure dances on the Las Vegas strip.

An overlooked monument to the celebrity gangster who helped put the sin in Sin City.

A giant open-air sculpture made of over 200 full-sized boats.

Dedicated to the American general whose reply to a German demand for surrender was simply "Nuts!"

One of the two original gateways into the Kasbah, this gateway is a nesting site for storks.

Color-coded signs direct drivers on a network of routes designed to avoid Pittsburgh traffic.

The souvenir got the company’s founder out of a pretty pickle at the World’s Fair.