A mine in the Sierra Nevada that produced nothing but barren quartz.

A little-known, but surprisingly large waterfall on the Little Truckee River in the northern Sierra Nevada.

A Native American petroglyph, the site of an emigrants' waystation, and the ruins of an early 20th-century sheep camp are all found at this crossroads.

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

This small shack near the entrance to Sequoia National Park has been in almost continuous operation for the last century.

The second-largest giant sequoia in the world.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

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

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

The first life claimed by this record-breaking peak wasn't lost to exposure or a fall but rather lightning.

The hundreds of movies and television shows shot in this high desert town are commemorated in a unique museum.

Travelers leave tea kettles in a remote part of Death Valley as part of a mysterious, decades-old tradition.

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

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

A British pub embodies the spirit of a California legend.

Colorado Boulevard’s historic bookstore, operating since the bustling city of Pasadena was merely some orange groves and a few ostrich farms.

Bug-devouring flora are the stars of a special wing of the glass conservatory.

Suburban observatory was personal lab of the father of modern astrophysics.

A nursery specializing in strange and beautiful succulents and cacti.

Arcadia is home to a haven for nature geeks and 80s TV lovers alike.

Costumed elves and mountain bikers co-exist peacefully at this abandoned Christmas-themed adventure park.

Wedding chapel's mysterious spiral staircase said to be miraculously constructed.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

Remains of a Greek freighter trapped off of Rocky Point in 1961.