One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

This strange seaside tower got its name from a wealthy eccentric who would hide coins among its stones.

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

First LEED-certified gas station in the United States.

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

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

An ultra-modern vista that has been featured in so many films the house is a celebrity in its own right.

This weird abode has inspired everything from the "House On Haunted Hil" to a robot hunter's pad.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

An underground mansion with fruit-bearing trees and grapes growing beneath the surface of central California.

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

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

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

Stripes of flowers bloom each spring in a 50 acre rainbow of color.

Eons old volcanic activity created one of the most stunning rock formations in the United States.

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.

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

An overlooked and unassuming engineering marvel.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

A Swedenborgian glass church surrounded by redwoods sits perched atop a massive landslide area.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

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

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.