This extinct shield volcano is the lightning rod of the Cascades.

A forensic lab dedicated to fighting crimes against wildlife.

A sprawling cave network created by a lone lava tube.

A rugged lava field dotted with molds of the ancient pines that were growing when the volcano erupted.

A midcentury ranch house hides a literal treasure trove of unique rocks and minerals.

This little slice of the Netherlands in the Pacific Northwest blooms in a rainbow of color each spring.

Sasqu(w)atch out!

This nature center has one of the largest collections of native raptors in the Pacific Northwest.

A vertically floating hemlock controls the waves and weather at Crater Lake.

This gorgeous beach hides behind two headlands in Oregon's Ecola State Park.

This natural marble cave is one of only five national monuments in Oregon.

A volcanic fissure over two miles long and up to 70 feet deep.

Two massive rock outcroppings on the Oregon coastline.

Formerly secret, precariously perched boulders.

Unknown to many, this sparkling turquoise lake hides amid Oregon's snowcapped mountains.

The longest continuous lava tube in Oregon.

A massive sea stack famous for its appearance in The Goonies.

Only known mainland rookery of the threatened Stellar sea lion.

The second largest waterfall by volume in the U.S., Willamette Falls is outdone only by Niagara in the amount of water that is pushed northward.

This lake in the Cascades lives up to its name, disappearing down a hole every spring.

Bison, America's national mammal, are staging a slow comeback in Ohio's prairie parkland.

At the center of this cemetery stands a 2,000-year-old burial mound of the Adena culture.

A county library in rural Ohio houses one of the finest mineral collections in the world.

A slab of sandstone covered with mysterious 1,000-year-old rock carvings from a vanished North American culture.