Badwater Basin is an endorheic basin in Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, Inyo County, California. It is the lowest point in North America at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. The salt flats here cover nearly 200 square miles (518 square km), and are composed mostly of sodium chloride (table salt), along with calcite, gypsum, and borax.

Mount Lassen, located in northern California, is a prominent volcanic peak in the Cascade Range. Officially known as Lassen Peak, it is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascades and part of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen Peak stands at 10,457 feet (3,187 meters).

Ubehebe Crater is a prominent volcanic feature located in the northern section of Death Valley National Park, California. It is part of the Ubehebe Craters volcanic field, which includes several overlapping craters formed by explosive volcanic activity. The largest crater is about 800 m (0.5 mi) wide and 250 m (800 ft) deep.

Winding through California’s northwest corner, the Smith River is the crown jewel of the Wild and Scenic River system. Rising in three major forks from the Klamath Mountains and Coast Range, the Smith runs wild and free through towering redwood and Douglas fir forests to the Pacific Ocean—all without a single dam.

The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline endorheic lake in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The lake is about 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km) at its widest and longest. A 2023 report put the surface area at 318 square miles (823.6 km2).

The Mojave Desert is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. It occupies a significant portion of Southern California and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Named after the Mojave Native Americans it occupies roughly 54,000 square miles in a typical Basin and Range topography.

New Melones Lake is a reservoir in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, located in central California. It is part of the Stanislaus River system, spanning portions of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The lake was created by the construction of the New Melones Dam, completed in 1979 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, water supply, hydroelectric power, and recreation.

Tahoe National Forest includes the 8,587-foot (2,617 m) peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It includes more than 850,000 acres of public land intermixed with 350,000 acres of private land in a checker board pattern. The Tahoe National Forest is renowned for its rugged beauty, historic sites and exceptional year-round recreation opportunities.

Cone Peak is the most spectacular mountain on the Big Sur coast of California. It is the second highest mountain in the Santa Lucia Range. It has a dramatic setting less than 3 miles as crow flies from the Pacific Ocean. Cone Peak is a mountain of marble that has been sculpted by erosion to its present steepness.

Keys View is a popular scenic overlook in Joshua Tree National Park. Perched on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, it provides panoramic views of the Coachella Valley. Look for the shining surface of the Salton Sea, which is 230 feet below sea level, on the far left. Looking to the right, the Santa Rosa Mountains are behind Indio and, along with 10,800-foot San Jacinto Peak behind Palm Springs,