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

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The first declared National Monument in the United States.

A roaring, awe-inspiring double cascade of icy water flows through woodland Oregon like something out of a Tolkien novel.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.

A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

A graceful natural rock formation stands astride the point where the Gulf of California meets the Pacific Ocean.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World holds the world's tallest metal staircase.

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.

An odd little fishing town that is inundated by tourists looking to be locked up in a cage and surrounded by great white sharks, because why not?

After the devastating 2011 earthquake, historic Christchurch begins to recover, starting with the pop-up Re:START mall.

A New Zealand couple's shell-adorned home living room, now on display at the Canterbury Museum.

A perfect turquoise lake colored with glacier dust.

The real life Hobbiton, this sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for The Hobbit film series.

This Taiwanese promontory is covered in otherworldly hoodoo formations.

An extraordinary natural landscape of mountains, waterfalls, and rocky cliffs riddled with tunnels.

A waterfall runs right through the middle of this Taiwanese shrine to the hundreds of workers killed while building a nearby highway.

Enormous pendulum helps keep Taiwan's tallest building from swaying.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

Cabaret where the show girls are all androids, and the patrons couldn't be more pleased.