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

Hidden beneath a lake for decades, this brutalist mine has now emerged from beneath the receding waters.

A hard-to-reach oasis in a desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.

This rugged area of red rocks and arches is often considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Dramatic river bend surrounds a natural red-rocked pedestal.

Rippling sand dunes frozen in the Arizona rock.

Giant pinnacles in the sun-scorched lands of Southern Utah have been nicknamed "white ghosts."

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.

The ghost town that ended up on Ebay.

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

Come for the speed, leave in love with the desert.

The highest dunes in California are the most likely place in the area to hear the Singing Sands.

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.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

This crumbling Death Valley mining complex was known for its use of giant, 20-mule team wagons.

Odd outsider art installations surround a Gold Rush-era ghost town.

The most magnificent bottle house in a town strangely full of them.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.

One of the most unusual geological features, recognizable from a dozen hit movies.

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.