Inky sludge oozes to the surface of this beach thanks to a rare natural tar seep.

NASA's leading space science lab started by a co-founder with deep ties to the occult.

A charming desert roadside bakery that produces 10 times more bread daily than it has residents in its town.

This sun-scorched lakebed contains samples of half the natural elements known to humankind.

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.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

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

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

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

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

"Only the devil could play golf here."

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

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.

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

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

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

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

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

One of the ghostly stops along Route 66.

This naturally heated mountainous creek has created a group of neon blue pools of potentially deadly boiling water.