A relic of the region's once booming timber industry.

This trench, some 2,300 feet long, is only the most prominent relic of a largely forgotten episode of placer mining on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada.

This large chunk of dark rock is a relic from an ancient volcanic eruption.

A small research station sits at the summit of this mountain, which is one of the few U.S. peaks higher than 14,000 feet outside of the Sierra Nevada.

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

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

A volcanic cone that formed over 600 years ago.

A unique collection of old miners' cave homes carved in to the hillside cliffs near Death Valley.

Deep vertical fissures like miniature slot canyons cut across the cemented volcanic rock of Black Point above Mono Lake.

The oldest pictographs on this decorated rock formation in California's Carrizo Plain date back as many as 4,000 years.

In one of the hottest parts of the Mojave Desert, shallow bedrock forces the typically dry Mojave River to the surface in this canyon, providing a vital oasis for humans and wildlife.

Artist Jack Pierson made this surreal sculpture in honor of Wonder Valley, a countercultural community on edge of civilization.

Two pillars set 10 paces apart commemorate the "last notable American duel."

A fire lookout atop a glacial pinnacle is reached by climbing three vertiginous flights of stairs.

California's longest-running tourist attraction is a stump.

One of California's oldest continually used high schools has an interesting history, both on and off screen.

While you're unlikely to find riches here these days, this remote mine is a time capsule of the Gold Rush era.

Where a railroad loops under or over itself to rise or drop more than 70 feet in a short distance.

This unique graffiti art from the 1940s has become a staple of this local landscape in the remote California desert.

The flow from this waterfall sometimes comes out of springs below its rim.

A 250 million-year-old rock formation has earned a rather unique nickname.

The remnants of an early automobile route across shifting sand dunes can still be found in the deserts of Southern California.

This 15-story mural celebrates the 50th anniversary of the musician's iconic "At Folsom Prison" album.

This large pile of traveler-curated rocks by the dry lakebed is a longstanding tradition on the Old Mojave Road.