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

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

Experience a charming 1930's version of "infotainment."

While it is not equipped to peer into outer space this observatory looks like it was built on the moon.

On the Oregon coast there is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.

Only known mainland rookery of the threatened Stellar sea lion.

An annual festival celebrating Colorado's most famous frozen corpse.

This tea house was a hand-built gift from Boulder's sister city in Tajikstan.

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

Monumental sculptures of Patrick Amiot, constructed from debris, detritus, and determination.

The only theatre in the world constructed specifically for sound movement.

San Francisco's oldest operating hotel, with a Victorian atmosphere and a "haunted" fourth floor.

The oldest burial ground in the city, final resting place of city founders, Ohlone natives and murderers alike.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

The final resting place of the Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.