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After seven days in the desert, Black Rock City is dismantled and everyone goes back to their lives outside of Burning Man. 

Smoke billows into the sky after the Man is burned. 

After a week in the desert, the participants watched the final event on Sunday night: the burning of the 43-foot man at the center of their temporary metropolis. 

On the final night of Burning Man, the temple is burned. 

The Temple is a tradition in Black Rock City, a place to mourn and put situations to rest. This year, Burners paid tribute to David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder and other visionaries lost in 2016.

This sculpture was dubbed "@Earth #Home" by the artists because, as they roamed Earth, coming back to Burning Man was like coming home. 

These massive wooden gorillas were set to have wings inspired by Da Vinci's flying machine, but were impressive nonetheless without them.

After the festival, this aluminum structure will be displayed at a sculpture garden in Miami dedicated to the art of Burning Man. 

A Burning Man tradition since 1993, the Lamplighters are volunteers who each place a dozen kerosene lamps, illuminating a path from the campground to the Man, the giant centerpiece set on fire at the end of the week.  

While traditional motor vehicles aren't allowed on the playa, self-built "art cars" are encouraged. 

This was the third Burning Man for this sculpture installation, created by artist Wreckage International. 

This eight-foot globe was crafted to be a reminder of the world outside the desert, and was made to be heavy enough to withstand the wind. 

During the day, this 25-foot gramophone played 78s of turn-of-the-century music, while at night it transformed into an immersive cabaret.

Another piece from artist Kevin Clark, Guardiano Leone is the "guardian of man," protecting the participants of Burning Man 2016. 

Burning Man is a place for all different kinds of musicians to come together and collaborate.

California artist Kevin Clark's installation was an impressive steel statue of Medusa's head of snakes that spit fire. 

An essential part of the Burning Man experience is dressing as a post-apocalyptic desert colonist. 

Distrikt, a week-long, EDM-fueled dance party, has become an annual tradition at Burning Man. 

This 50-foot humpback whale, built of steel and stained glass, was created to explore the need for environmental balance and space travel. It's now on a six-country tour.

Venice Beach, California artist Swig Miller built this tower as a place to look out over the temporary city while standing next to a pair of fire-breathing dragons.

The skull and hands, created by Ryan Elmendorf and Nick Geurts of Denver, Colorado, incorporated one of Da Vinci's favorite devices: the camera obscura. Participants could enter the skull, a darkened room, where lenses in the eyes projected what was happening in the outside world on the wall.