Improbably, the largest wildlife refuge in the conterminous 48 states sits just northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

These markers are used to determine the ground stability of the Strip.

This arid landscape was once a lush wetland. Today, it's a paleontological site filled with fossilized mammoths, sabertooth cats, and more.

A luxurious doomsday bunker hidden beneath an unassuming Las Vegas home offers the best of subterranean suburbia.

These banned cigarette vending machines now sell little pieces of pocket-sized art.

The neon signs from Las Vegas' past find their final resting place at this unusual graveyard.

The former home of silent film star Harry Carry.

Abandoned anti-ballistic missile base.

According to legend it was a nap taken under this tree that kicked off the California Gold Rush.

This Southern Californian Conservation Center is home to singing and howling apes.

An abandoned cyanide mill is now a haunting magnet for graffiti and illegal parties.

A concrete arrow from a 1920s network of airmail beacons is still preserved at the western edge of suburban Reno.

A little-known occurrence of fossil wood in northern Washoe County, Nevada, near the Black Rock Desert.

This small town was built around a marble quarry and named after one of the most famous sources of marble in the world.

An old railroad grade built for the construction of Hoover Dam is now a recreational trail featuring several tunnels and sweeping views of Lake Mead.

An ill-fated attempt to grow wheat in the sagebrush steppe of northeastern Nevada.

This ancient village provides insight into the complexity of the pre-Columbian Fremont Culture.

Historic home to one of the most famous women pioneers of the 19th century.

A whimsical, punny collection of "fence art" outside the tiny mountain town of Baker, Nevada.

A land of debatable treasure.

This Old West eatery along America's Loneliest Road was originally a stop on the Pony Express.

An 1870s ranch for pioneers, rodeo stars, and divorcees was abandoned and left for dead, until the city reopened it for exploration.

Michael Heizer's masterwork in the Nevada Basin.

This railroad magnate's 19th century tower is more than a little bit out of place in the Nevada desert.