It's hard to believe the hundreds of stunning creations that rise from the dust each Burning Man are collectively enjoyed for a mere week, only then to be burned to the ground or carted off the remote stretch of Nevada desert.
This year's Burn was bigger than ever, and the art installations on display reflected the sheer scale of the pop-up utopia. Below, 16 of the most gorgeous, awe-inspiring pieces from the playa:
Church Trap
Rebekah Waites' giant, decaying replica of a church tipped on its axis like a box trap and featured an LED interior.
Coyote
Revelers loved climbing on Bryan Tedrick's 25-foot tall steel coyote, whose head rotated a full 360 degrees.
Believe
Laura Kimpton and Jeff Schomberg's large word series has become a Burning Man staple, and this year's piece paid homage to the event's Cargo Cult theme.
Dust City Diner
Michael Brown and David Cole's 1950s-style diner came fully equipped with coffee and grilled cheese for its patrons.
El Pulpo Mecanico
The enormous, fire-breathing Octopus art car has been delighting revelers with its spectacle since 2011.
Charcade
Christopher Guard's flaming arcade featured glowing games like "Riskee ball," a Burning Man version of Skee ball.
Bat Country
Gwen Fisher and Paul Brown's 21-foot, six-sided tetrahedron was built with 384 aluminum baseball bats and 130 softballs.
Truth Is Beauty
Marco Cochrane's 55-foot tall sculpture of a female silhouette, which glittered with colorful LEDs at night, was the most buzzed-about piece at this year's event.
Xylophage
The Flaming Lotus Girls' piece featured massive fungi glowing and emanating sounds beside a tree stump.
Universe Revolves
Zachary Coffin's "world's heaviest merry-go-round" was constructed with 80,000 pounds of stone and steel.
Hands
David Gertler's 12-foot pair of wooden hands provided an unconventional resting place for attendees.
Like 4 Real
Dadara's golden Facebook like button allowed participants to worship at its altar.
Black Rock Bijou
Burning Man's fully-functioning movie theater showed classic films and served popcorn and candy.
Homouroboros, Tantalus
Peter Hudson's interactive drum sculpture featured replicas of monkeys and serpents who moved as users engaged.
Temple of Whollyness
Burning Man builds and burns a temple each year, providing a place for participants to honor loved ones who have died. This year's temple, built by SYNTHESIS LLC, took shape as a 64-foot tall pyramid.
The Man
No Burn would be complete without its Man, which lives at the apex of the event grounds and burns to the ground in a sea of fireworks at the end of the week. The Man of 2013 perched atop a spaceship, and attendees could climb inside and slide down its sides.