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

The unedited photograph called "Bliss" has graced the screens of over a billion computers.

Sunset-colored dunes of volcanic ash make taking a poor photo impossible.

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

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

A ruined hotel with an unlucky history and an eerie present.

Neither Spanish settlers nor anyone since has been able to tell who built these strange California rock walls.

Named after a bandit and the star of several Hollywood prehistoric landscapes, these sandstone formations are a historical part of the Los Angeles natural landscape.

Secret Manor, a house full of legends, the least of which is the haunting of long-deceased ladies of pleasure.

Nancy Thompson's Home from "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

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

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

This rare example of a "tidefall" is a spectacular drop from the cliffs down onto the beach.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

Everyone remembers Laurie Strode from Halloween, but this is the house where most of the blood was shed.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

San Diego's most historic and haunted home.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.