Results for 'California' - Atlas Obscura
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Keyword Results for California for Current Map

1
California City, California
California City: The Unbuilt Suburb
The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.
California's Old Faithful.
2
Calistoga, California
California's Old Faithful
California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.
Water Use, a "creek" that runs through the park
3
Costa Mesa, California
California Scenario
A small sculpture garden that provides a microcosmic representation of California.
Exterior of the California Historical Society headquarters.
4
San Francisco, California
California Historical Society Headquarters
A former hardware store near Yerba Buena is the official home of California's history.
Book Club of California
5
San Francisco, California
Book Club of California
In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.
6
Sebastopol, California
California Carnivores
Nursery with extensive collection of flesh-eating plants operated by the author of "The Savage Garden."
Succulents for sale.
7
Pasadena, California
California Cactus Center
A nursery specializing in strange and beautiful succulents and cacti.
Vintage illustration of the Midwinter Exposition
8
San Francisco, California
Site of the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition
San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.
9
Malibu, California
California Coastal Records Project
View the California coastline (and the home of Barbara Streisand) inch by inch with stunning, government-sanctioned aerial photography.
The plaque was presented by California Avocado Society in 1946.
10
Antigua, Guatemala
California Avocado Plaque
Believe it or not, the now-ubiquitous California avocado originated in Guatemala.
From the side
11
Moscow, Russia
Independent Republic of California Embassy in Moscow
The California secessionist movement has its own foreign embassy, in Russia of all places.
Women's Museum of California, located at a decommissioned Naval training facility
12
San Diego, California
Women's Museum of California
This San Diego museum is dedicated to preserving women’s historic achievements.
Diego Rivera's "The Allegory of California" mural
13
San Francisco, California
'The Allegory of California'
The first fresco Diego Rivera painted in the United States can be found in the former San Francisco Stock Exchange.
There it is, in all its puny glory, Newport Beach's Cocos nucifera.
14
Newport Beach, California
California's Coconut Palm
permanently closed
One of the only known surviving coconut palm trees in the entire state.
Frog specimens at the California Academy of Sciences.
15
San Francisco, California
California Academy of Sciences Herpetology Department
Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.
More results

Story Results for California

story
natural disaster

How Will California’s Wildfires Affect Wildlife?

From fleeing mountain lions to scorched soil, the aftermath of intense fires shows an ecosystem transformed.
January 21, 2025
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natural disaster

The Unusually Strong Force Driving Apocalyptic Los Angeles Wildfires

Powerful seasonal winds combined with drought-starved vegetation have made the Palisades Fire one of the worst in California history.
January 9, 2025
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seals

Are There Plenty of Fish in the Sea? Ask an Elephant Seal.

In California, deep-diving marine mammals help scientists count how many fish live in the ocean's twilight zone.
February 24, 2025
Gastro Obscura
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harvest rituals and celebrations

The Indigenous Communities Preserving the Ancient Art of Roasting Agave

Now more famous as a distilling ingredient, agave has been a traditional food in Southern California for millennia.
August 1, 2024
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dear atlas

Dear Atlas: What Parts of Route 66 Are Worth the Drive?

A curated guide to the stretches and stops that truly deserve your time.
March 18, 2025
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natural disaster

In the National Parks, Fire Crews Do More Than Fight Fires

Protecting sensitive habitats and cultural resources from the smoke and flames is part of the job too.
January 13, 2025
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rites of spring

Have You Seen a Dark Watcher?

Cryptic characters lurk in California's mountains. Or maybe it's just the weather.
May 2, 2024
Gastro Obscura
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orchards

Inside the Japanese-American Farm Preserving Endangered Fruit

How one family turned their peach orchard into a rallying cry for saving heirloom flavors and building community.
December 18, 2024
Gastro Obscura
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scientists at work

How a UC Davis Research Center Is Changing the World of Coffee

That’s that UC espresso.
February 5, 2025
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first nations

Where the Savior Fish Still Swims

In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to the Nisg̱a’a nation.
March 10, 2025
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new species

A Devilish New Species Discovered in Big Bend National Park

This tiny, fuzzy sunflower relative has been hiding in plain sight—it represents the first new genus identified in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years.
March 4, 2025
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territorial dispute

The U.S. Just Expanded the Size of Two Californias

It’s like another Louisiana Purchase.
March 15, 2024
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irish

The Color of St. Patrick's Day Wasn't Always Green

Ireland’s patron saint was once dressed in blue—before his holiday got its signature hue.
March 17, 2025
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evolution

Blood-Powered Toes Give ‘Skydiving’ Salamanders a Boost

These amphibians evolved unique strategies to move around the canopies of the world's tallest trees.
February 5, 2025
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rodents

As Cities Get Warmer, Rat Populations Are on the Rise

New research shows that climate change is giving urban rats a boost, especially in Washington, D.C.
February 3, 2025
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spycraft

How Cold War Spying From Space Connected the Galaxy to Utah

NASA and the private space sector are now turning to technology used for a top-secret 1960s mission.
February 27, 2025
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urban legends

The Vanishing Hitchhiker Legend Is an Ancient Tale That Keeps Evolving

The classic creepy story—a driver offers a lift to a stranger who is not of this world—has deep roots and a long reach.
October 10, 2024
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libraries

Inside a Collection of 'Imaginary' Books

Some of these books were lost and never found; others were never even written.
January 23, 2025