15 Coolest Google Earth Finds

Published on 10/15/2009 under Cool Places - by Gracie Murano - 380,373 views

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. (Link | Photo)


A synthetic wonder that can be truly appreciated only from above, this giant man-shaped lake (-21.805149,-49.089977) is located near Bauru, Brazil. (Link)


This heart-shaped island in the Adriatic became a hit on Google Earth for Valentine's Day. The uninhabited island is only 130,000 square yards and is called Galesnjak. The owner didn't even know how perfectly this island off the Croatian coast was until he was swamped with requests from couples to stay there. (Link | Photo)


This fingerprint can be found in Hove Park, near Brighton and Hove in the UK. It measures 38 metres around. Imagine the size of the hand. (Link)




Rhett Dashwood, a graphic designer from Australia, created the first Google Maps alphabet, featuring all 26 letters, using satellite images of natural features and buildings. (Link)


Lion, at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. (Link)


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?
NOTE: our reader Guilhem told us it "must be located at a Dassault Système office. It's an old Mirage and I know for a fact that there is a Dassault office there", while another reader, Roland, argues "it's a full scale model of a Mirage 2000 on a campus of the university of Paris" (Link | Photo)


This is a US Navy building in Coronado, Ca. that was unintentionally built in the shape of a swastika. Now, because of a public uproar, the Navy will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building.
(Link)


In the early days of Firefox, a few devoted fans wanted to generate more PR for their beloved site and so gathered a team of people in Amity, Oregon, to recreate the Firefox logo in a field; their very own fox crop. (Link)


Last year, one of the Google Earth Community members called 'ear1grey' posted an amazing discovery. He found a huge picture (36 miles tall) of Santa! (Link)


So here's a giant Ipod Shuffle! It looks like a farmer's field with a horse pen or something on it? Either that or a hard core apple enthusiast. Unfortunately, it looks like he moved the pen on the map since it was first spotted.
(Link | Photo)


Google Earth doesn't have advertising, unless you consider the corporate logos and trademarks big enough to be seen from space. Check out this massive Coca-Cola logo (-18.529225,-70.25002) etched into a hillside of Chile with 70,000 Coke bottles. Haven't they heard of recycling? (Link)


As if Oprah Winfrey's celebrity weren't already big enough, an Arizona farmer built a 10-acre homage to the talk show host (Google Earth coordinates 33.225488,-111.5955). (Link)


Too late now, huh? (Link)