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

Water of undetermined depth has attracted rare fish and cult leaders alike.

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

The cluster of boulders near Fort Irwin is covered in military insignia.

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

The location of the last stand of Charles Manson's doomsday cult.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

Ten 25-foot-tall, beehive-shaped kilns, abandoned in Death Valley.

This impressive tunnel was dug entirely by hand over the course of 36 years.

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

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

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

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

The most isolated mailbox in America lets desert travelers record their passing.

A volcanic tunnel illuminated by natural skylights offers a shaded respite from the desert sun.

No one's quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Finally the worlds of UFO enthusiasts and beef jerky lovers have come together in this roadside shop.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

This large pile of traveler-curated rocks by the dry lakebed is a longstanding tradition on the Old Mojave Road.

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

A massive hydrovolcanic explosion left a half-mile wide crater in Death Valley.

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

This desert oddity hides in plain sight thanks to a cartographic error and a desert explorer with a punny sense of humor.