Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

This lonesome Monterey cypress has survived centuries of wind, salt, and at least one attempt at arson.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

Rising out of miles of farmland, these buttes are sometimes called the world's smallest mountain range.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

Elephant seals and sea lions have turned the abandoned buildings on this island into their endangered love shack.

One of the most elaborate displays of Jellyfish is on display at the aquarium.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

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

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

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

Canyon walls shrouded in ferns.

A museum befitting the city responsible for supplying the majority of the world's LSD.