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Travel

A hand stencil design on the wall of a cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Prehistoric Rock Art to Visit Around the World

Scientists just discovered some of the world’s oldest art in a cave in Indonesia. Want to see more prehistoric masterpieces? Here are eight other options

Dinosaur bone fossils at the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

The Best Places in America to See Fossils

October 14 is National Fossil Day—here are some of the best places in America to take a trip back in geological time

Around half of the San Gabriel Mountains are now a national monument.

San Gabriel Mountains Designated A National Monument

President Obama grants federal protection to half of the California mountain range

Abandoned wooden houses line the main street in St. Elmo, Colorado.

Halloween

Need Some Alone Time? Check Out America’s Coolest Ghost Towns

Old mines, abandoned buildings, and the occasional curse: Ghost towns cover the United States, and they make for a fun detour

A fragmented painting of a pig-deer or babirusa (Babyrousa sp.) and hand stencil from one of the caves in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Rock (Art) of Ages: Indonesian Cave Paintings Are 40,000 Years Old

Cave paintings of animals and hand stencils in Sulawesi, Indonesia, seem to be as old as similar cave art in Europe

Balloons taking off during the Mass Ascension at the opening of the International Balloon Fiesta at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

New Mexico’s Skies Burst With Color During World’s Largest Hot Air Balloon Festival

The 43rd Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta sends hundreds of hot air balloons soaring into the sky

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia.

America’s Best Fall Color Drives

Want to be dazzled by Mother Nature’s fall foliage display? Just hop in the car.

Northern lights ignite the sky.

On the Hunt for the World’s Most Spectacular Sky Show

Photojournalist Randall Hyman journeys north to Tromsø, Norway, in search of the northern lights

To enter Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, visitors must descend over 260 feet.

American South

From the Biggest to the Longest, Five Amazing Caves To Visit

New measurements revealed the world’s largest cave, which is unfortunately off-limits. But what are some other impressive underworlds open for visitors?

The movement to dramatically reduce car traffic is picking up speed.

Anthropocene

Helsinki Has a Plan to Get People to Stop Owning Cars

A system being developed in Finland would allow people to subscribe to all kinds of mobility options and pay for everything on their phones

More than two years after his death, the tortoise Lonesome George has been stuffed and put on display in New York.

Lonesome George, the Last Tortoise of His Kind, Is on Posthumous Display in NYC

Driven to extinction by overhunting, the world’s last Pinta Island tortoise is now a taxidermy display at New York’s American Museum of Natural History

Members of the Apollo 15 crew training at Cinder Lake.

Can’t Make It to the Moon? Head to Arizona Instead

In 1967, the United States Geological Survey turned an old volcano into a lunar training ground for astronauts

The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, P.A. is celebrating its city in a long-term exhibition, "Pittsburgh a Tradition of Innovation."

Celebrating Pittsburgh, the City Behind Pro Football, Big Macs and the Polio Vaccine

The Pennsylvanian city had more lives than a cat and thrives as a hub of innovation

Distinctive gold cuff links provided a recognition signal between Soviet mole Pyotr Popov and his CIA contacts.

A Private Tour of the CIA’s Incredible Museum

Inside the agency’s headquarters is a museum filled with relics from half a century of cloak-and-dagger exploits

The ornate black gates to the Poison Garden warn visitors of the deadly plants that grow within.

Step Inside the World’s Most Dangerous Garden (If You Dare)

The Poison Garden at England’s Alnwick Garden is beautiful—and filled with plants that can kill you

An artist renders the proposed master plan of Masdar City.

Building the World’s First Carbon-Neutral City

Masdar City, near Abu Dhabi, boasts green buildings, a fleet of electric cars and massive solar arrays. But will the experiment work?

Revelers celebrating Oktoberfest Brisbane

Best Places to Celebrate Oktoberfest Other Than Munich

If drinking beer and eating schnitzel alongside 6 million people doesn’t appeal to you, here are places to celebrate while avoiding Munich’s crowds

Ai sits in a replica of the prison cell in which he was detained in 2011. No one in China, he has said, "has a solid belief or trust in society."

Why is Ai Weiwei Breaking Into Alcatraz?

China’s most controversial artist selected America’s most notorious prison as the home for his new show

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Pemaquid Peninsula, Maine

Maine’s Most Interesting Lighthouses

Shipwrecks, poetry and alien encounters: The lighthouses dotting Maine’s coast pack a double punch of beauty and history

The Biomuseo brightens the night sky

Frank Gehry’s Biomuseo in Panama, Finally Open for Business

The eye-popping structure devoted to the nation’s vibrant ecosystems makes its grand debut

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