Mirrors and glass shards cover every inch of this arrestingly beautiful mosque.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

The site of murders and Satanic cult gatherings.

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

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

Trails through lava-carved tube-caves display sparkling bacteria and a rich history.

This Los Angeles animation studio is keeping the wonder of stop motion puppetry alive.

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

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

A one-of-a-kind collection of a unique medium.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

Colorful Native American paintings are hidden within this small cavern.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

These lush groves of fan palms rise up like oases out of southern California's Colorado Desert.

At this deceptively beautiful beach, nothing is what it seems.

Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

Version of the French Riviera destroyed by the sea.

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

Located on 420 acres in the high desert, this spiritual center is dedicated to the "science of the future."

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.