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

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

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

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

Once thought to be the oldest living tree in the world, Methuselah was germinated before the Egyptian pyramids were built.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

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

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

Stripes of flowers bloom each spring in a 50 acre rainbow of color.

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

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

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

Abandoned hotel with adjacent lake and golf course.

Thousands of turbines whir at at the origin of North American wind power.