20 MORE STRANGE (AND SPECTACULAR) SIGHTS ON GOOGLE EARTH

My previous post provided a list of 10 strangest sights on Google Earth. Here’s another collection of selected odd, spectacular and mysterious sights. (Note: If any of the links in the article below do not work, please go the original source links cited at the end of this post).

STRANGEST SIGHTS IN GOOGLE EARTH

By PC World.

Ever since Google first let people scour the planet from the comfort of their computers through the Google Earth software program, fans have been on a virtual scavenger hunt from the North Pole to the South Pole looking for anything interesting, unusual, or unexplained.

In the olden days, the ancients recognized Seven Wonders of the World; but thanks to Google Earth, you can now spot thousands of "I wonder what it is" head scratchers. Among the new wonders: a 1-square-mile painting of a cowboy's head, a giant cruise ship parked between skyscrapers, and places that look, well, not of this world.

By clicking the links provided with each image you can visit each sighting in Google Maps. Some links bring you to other breathtaking sights. But for better viewing results, we encourage you to visit the destinations in Google's free mapping software Google Earth. We've included the coordinates in parenthesis next to each sighting so you can cut and paste those coordinates into Google Earth's 'Fly To' box. We've also created a "zoom to image" option for other Google Earth images mentioned in the slideshow text, so you can view sites without leaving the slideshow. Enjoy your trip!

1. Only From the Sky

Dubbed The Badlands Guardian by locals, this geological marvel (Google Earth coordinates 50.010083,-110.113006) in Alberta, Canada, bears an uncanny resemblance to a human head wearing a full Native American headdress - and earphones, to boot. Of course, The Guardian was produced naturally. For a more synthetic wonder that can be truly appreciated only from above, check out the giant man-shaped lake (-21.805149,-49.089977) near Bauru, Brazil.

2. Huge and Unique

Finding huge and unique things via Google Earth is one of the most popular activities within the Google Earth community. This giant pink bunny (Google Earth coordinates 44.244273,7.769737) in Prata Nevoso, Italy, was built by a group of artists from Vienna, according to published accounts. It's 200 feet long and answers to the name "Hare."

3. Crop Circles

Without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to crop circles is Google Earth. This circle in the desert just outside Beatty, Nevada (Google Earth coordinates 37.401437,-116.86773), is one of hundreds spotted with the software. If you're hoping that looking at enough crop circles will give you clues about the arrival of our alien overlords, download this set of Placemarks to crop circles.

4. Open Secrets

If you're in the intelligence business, Google Earth makes hiding big things nearly impossible. This image is believed to be of a 1.8-square-mile scale model of a disputed region on the border of China and India. Google Earth spotters found it in a remote area in north central China (Google Earth coordinates 38.265652,105.9517). One theory on why this model exists comes from the Australian publication The Age, which reported that the scale model is used to train tank drivers.

5. Auto Antics

Think parking is tough where you live? In Westenbergstraat, Netherlands, drivers apparently have to park on the sides of walls (Google Earth coordinates 52.069207,4.3139865).

6. Virtual Sightseeing

Nothing can replace hopping in a plane and going somewhere, but Google Earth gives you a small taste of what you might see when you visit some of the world's tourist destinations. This spectacular shot shows Victoria Falls (Google Earth coordinates -17.925511,25.858223) on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other virtual destinations worth flying over are Mt. Everest (27.985866,86.92844) and Mt. Kilimanjaro (-3.0726042,37.343093).

7. Floating Failures

The unblinking eyes of the satellites record not only human achievements, but our less successful moments as well. One example is this huge ship (Google Earth coordinates 30.541634,47.825445) floating on its side after a maritime accident in the waters of Basrah, Iraq.

8. Caught on Satellite: North Dakota Truck Crash

Sometimes Google Earth is lucky enough to catch things as they happen. Here Google Earth captures a truck that crashed (Google Earth coordinates 46.765669,-100.79274) outside of Bismarck, North Dakota. In another instance, Google Earth caught fishermen illegally bottom-trawling (28.102512,-14.265835) beaches near Spain's Canary Islands.

9. Map Mysteries

Some of the sights you find in Google Earth are just plain mysterious. For example, why is a fighter jet parked (Google Earth coordinates 48.825183,2.1985795) in what looks to be a residential neighborhood lot near Paris? And why is this lake in Iraq (33.39845000,44.48416800) blood red?

10. All-Seeing Cat’s Eye

Standing in front of China's Beijing South Railway Station must be impressive, but seeing it from the perspective of the Google Earth satellite is cool, too (39°51'50.35"N, 116°22'21.78"E) (see it on Google Maps). From above, this ultramodern railway station looks like a cat's eye. For larger-than-life architectural finds, nothing beats Google Earth for getting a grand perspective - be it the 350-foot Atomium (50°53'41"N, 4°20'28"E) in Brussels, Belgium [zoom to image], or Dubai's Burj Al Arab (25° 8'30.90"N, 55°11'4.76"E) [zoom to image], the world's tallest freestanding hotel.

11. Is This Planet Earth?

This aerial shot of an Algerian desert (31°7'45.56"N, 7°56'23.12"E) looks like something taken by a satellite orbiting Mars. The stunning alien-like landscape has inspired some Google Earth daydreamers to spot images of girl's face (31°15'14.82"N, 7°53'12.10"E) (see it on Google Maps) [zoom to image] or a tree (30°56'55.41"N, 7°52'51.37"E) (see it on Google Maps) [zoom to image] between the wavy sandy crevasses. Think Algeria looks other-worldly? Try these mud flats (39.094361,83.596134) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image] found in a remote part of Sinkiang, China, and this bead-like tableau (17°25'42.01"N, 6°38'30.39"E) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image] in the Agadez region of Niger, where salt production has created odd formations in the landscape.

12. One Square Mile of Cowboy Country

The artist Ando doesn't just think big - he thinks humongous. Using 1 square mile of Australian Outback as his canvas, Ando "painted" a picture of a cowboy into the landscape. Called Mundi Man or Eldee Man, it is located on the Mundi Plains in Australia (31°40'37.11"S, 141°14'23.68"E) (see it in Google Maps) and is meant to represent the people who pioneered in the region. The image here has been color-adjusted for clarity. (The additional image here is from AndoArt.com.) And could this be the cowboy's footprint (51.294076,-1.534722) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image], or his thumbprint (50.844,-0.172043) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image]?

13. A Mall That’s Ready for the Next Flood

A dry-docked skiff is one thing, but a cruise ship parked between skyscrapers in the middle of a city is quite another (22°18'14.15"N, 114°11'24.66"E) (see it in Google Maps). This ocean liner is known by locals as Whompoa Boat and doubles as a shopping mall in downtown Hong Kong.

14. Conquering the Earth

Need an island, but can't find one to buy? Why not build one? That appears to be the philosophy behind islands being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the shape of palm trees crowned with crescents. This image shows one (25° 7'2.64"N, 55° 7'59.28"E) (see it in Google Maps) of three identical Palm Islands being built from an estimated 500,000 cubic meters of rock and sand. Google Earth offers a unique way to explore this island, serving up a high-resolution map where you can wander the island's 100 luxury hotels, water parks, and lavish homes.

15. Satellite Tourist

Sure, visiting breathtaking landmarks such as the Roman Coliseum (41°53'26.44"N, 12°29'31.17"E) (see it in Google Maps) in person is the best way to see them. (Shown in the inset at bottom left is a Google Street View of the Roman Coliseum - another alternative for virtual globetrotters.) But if your budget and schedule don't permit it, Google Earth may just have to do. The good news for virtual tourists is that Google has updated its coverage of many of the world's most popular destinations with high-resolution images that make an Internet trip to the Grand Canyon (36.102966,-112.091532 ) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image], the Great Wall of China (40°21'15.86"N, 116° 0'25.31"E) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image], and Eiffel Tower (48°51'29.47"N, 2°17'40.26"E) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image] as enjoyable as possible.

16. Out-of-This-World Art

Instead of working with paint brushes and canvases, some artists use bulldozers and backhoes to create art. In their 1997 desert installation called Desert Breath (27°22'50.10"N, 33°37'54.62"E) (see it on Google Maps), artists Danae Stratou, Alexandra Stratou, and Stella Constantinides created two interlocking spirals that stretch almost 0.25 mile from side to side in the Egyptian desert. The inset images on the left are from DanaeStratou.com and show Desert Breath just after it was completed and before the installation was ravaged by wind, rain, and time.

17. Hell on Earth

This satellite view of what CBS news called "hell on earth" in a 60 Minutes exposé is as close as you might want to get to the beach of Bhatiari, Bangladesh (22°26'4.44"N, 91°43'46.32"E) (see it on Google Maps), where hundreds of cashiered luxury liners and no-longer-useful cargo ships come to die and be dismembered. What you can't see in this satellite snapshot are the thousands of workers who get paid a dollar a day to toil in the heat and toxic boat waste salvaging steel, copper, and ship parts. The inset image on the right of the slide is from Flickr user naquib. And speaking of maritime graveyards, here is where U.S. Navy mothballs some of its fleet near Benicia, California (38° 3'55.21"N 122° 6'15.96"W) (see it in Google Maps) [zoom to image].

18. I Heart Google Earth

How does Mother Earth show her love for Google Earth? With heart-shaped islands (43°58'42.70"N, 15°23'0.14"E) (see it on Google Maps) [zoom to image], ponds (52°15'27.48"N, 10°31'17.62"E) (see it on Google Earth) [zoom to image], and botanical enigmas (20°56'15.47"S, 164°39'30.56"E) (see it on Google Maps) [zoom to image], of course. How do mere mortals show their love for Google Earth? We etch our devotion into Mother Earth via heart-shaped designs (48°53'26.45"N, 12°30'36.01"E) (see it on Google Maps) [zoom to image], of which there are plenty.

19. Extremely High Resolution

Since Google Earth debuted in 2005, the satellite images accessible through the mapping software have gotten sharper. Sometimes you can be caught off guard by stunningly crisp images of random things. Here is an image of a park in Sebastopol, California, where people are lounging on the grass and others are lining up for lunch (38°24'40.50"N, 122°50'25.42"W) (see it on Google Maps; to see this image on the resulting map, move the slider bar all the way to the highest magnification, next to the + label). What gives? According to unconfirmed reports, this is a meeting of Foo Camp, an annual hacker conference sponsored by O'Reilly Media. Another seemingly random high-resolution image captures a lonely Land Rover driving through a Moroccan desert (27°56'25.44"N, 12°17'28.15"W) [zoom to image]. Other spectacular high-resolution images, like these pyramids located outside of Cairo, Egypt (29°58'44.64"N, 31° 7'54.60"E) [zoom to image] (See it in Google Earth), don't leave you wondering, "What's the story behind this image?"

20. When Things Go Wrong

With Google's unblinking satellite eye trained on us, it's bound to capture things as they happen. Here in Frankfurt, Germany, you can spot a house fire (50° 2'16.46"N, 8°14'29.01"E) (see it in Google Maps). Here is another of a car accident and massive traffic snarl (51° 4'47.89"N, 6°59'17.70"E ) [zoom to image] in Germany. Off the coast of Sudan, you get a good view of a Bolivian cargo ferry, the SS Jassim, that ran aground and capsized (19°38'46.58"N, 37°17'42.19"E) [zoom to image].

Source:
1. In Pictures: The Strangest Sights in Google Earth
2. Strangest Sights in Google Earth, Part II

[Edited]