Google Maps Scavenger Hunt

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Toups @ Sep 7 2007, 09:20 PM) [snapback]508829[/snapback]</div>

Worlds largest airplane. The Antonov An-225. Parked at Gostomel Airport in the Ukraine.

[attachmentid=11274]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Toups @ Sep 7 2007, 09:20 PM) [snapback]508829[/snapback]</div>

dang it - I know WHAT it is; I just have to find WHERE it is!!!

 

I remember those. They were designed to fly on a cushion of air close to the water, under the radar. Here's a video of the Ekranoplan.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Martin Gundel @ Sep 7 2007, 09:57 PM) [snapback]508839[/snapback]</div>

Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park

I'll post one in a moment

 

Continuing with the aircraft theme.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Sep 7 2007, 08:18 PM) [snapback]508872[/snapback]</div>

The Air Museum at Kiev, Ukraine
The generally dilapidated display was the tipoff that it wasn't Dayton. Interesting how the curators of many air museums in the old Soviet Union and China take the step of building special stands to keep the weight off the tires, yet let the airplanes rot away outside with no protection. The aluminum skins are only a few hundredths of an inch thick and once the corrosion starts, it spreads like wildfire.

If someone beats me getting the next image ready, it's all yours!

MB

 

That's gotta be the hole through the center of the earth; nothing else would be that black and depthless. Question is, which end of the hole is it. Hmmmm.

It's a natural hole - no roads, trails, tracks or facilities anywhere within 2 to 3 miles of it. Probably full of water. Now why would a circular pond 1500 feet across two miles from an uninhabited section of shoreline be of note? It's got me beat. Some new species of crop circle?

We may need a bit more to go on - it's been about 12 hours without a peep from anyone.

MB

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 8 2007, 09:26 AM) [snapback]509087[/snapback]</div>

Oddly, that was enough to find it - diving and island caves led to CENOTES (I word I'd never heard of), and this is some famous cenote - but what its name is and what the name of the island is I can't tell you because Googlemaps hasn't got any labels in the area. It's off the eastern shore of the Yucatan peninsula - I'll leave it to the Doc to fill us in on the nomenclature (I'm sure if I kept banging on candidate Google sites I'd find it eventually but it's too much work).

Again, if anyone gets up an image before I can, go for it and you're welcome!

MB

 

Here is an interesting landscape
It is not modern art, but I thought I would continue with the obscure looking landscape the doc has started.

This is not a particular place but an area. Notice the scale at the bottom.

Hint: It is probably one of the most inhospitalble areas on earth.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 8 2007, 11:22 AM) [snapback]509138[/snapback]</div>

I have to apologize - my big atlas is in storage (as is my entire living room - renovation has cleared the room of everything but sandpaper and contractor bids), so I couldn't just look up at least the name of the island - and trying to figure out WHICH cenote in Google was THE cenote was just too much trial and error for me at the moment - after all, I'd just learned there was even such a word! How's that for a weasely excuse for plain ol' cussed laziness?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 8 2007, 02:22 PM) [snapback]509138[/snapback]</div>

Go ahead and post, my guess is the best match is here in Oman, but your link started me in the right direction.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&am...1.2854&z=10

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 8 2007, 02:46 PM) [snapback]509149[/snapback]</div>

Okay, here is an image I stumbled on while looking for some of the previous postings.

Note, the black areas are water if you check the corresponding map.

I know what it looks like but the black areas are in fact water. I can't find it in google or wikipedia. Find it and help me solve the mystery.

[attachmentid=11285]

For a major hint, here is a piece of the corresponding map.

[attachmentid=11286]

Ah, I now know what it is! Mystery solved for me, your turn!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Toups @ Sep 8 2007, 12:00 PM) [snapback]509152[/snapback]</div>

Could be a seaplane runway and parallel water taxiway. Until I find it I can't zoom closer in & look for ramps or other signs that it's a runway. But that'd be my first guess.

And why go to all that trouble with a perfectly good river next door? Obstructions, depth - a whole host of difficulties that a nice manmade stretch of linear aqua neatly, if expensively, solves.

There's one of these a few miles south of Gilroy, near Hollister, here in CA, which is why I think that's what it might be.

MB

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airportkid @ Sep 8 2007, 03:18 PM) [snapback]509157[/snapback]</div>

Airportkid, I'll let you know that your first guess is wrong. That was my first guess and it took me three days to figure out that it was wrong. It wasn't until I posted it that I realized what it obviously was.

Yes why go to all that trouble and huge expense! If you can answer that then you can figure out what it really is!