We probably don't stop to think about it, but Google Earth is one of the most incredible and miraculous inventions that any mapmaker or explorer could've ever asked for. We now have a view of nearly every inch of our globe being beamed to us at all times from outer space. Can you picture anything more unbelievable than that? This wonderful tool has shown us things that we could have never known otherwise, and some things that we never expected. Scroll down and see what's really happening on our planet, all from the vantage of the cosmos.
Can We Listen To The X-Files Music Now?
This mysterious triangle in the Nevada desert has circles in it that are too perfect in shape to be drawn by humans. Although humans can draw it, we feel it is no fun to believe it.
Some people think it is an abandoned airstrip or an old bomb testing site. What do you think about it?
The Floor is Lava
Have you played The Floor is Lava game? In the game, someone shouts, "floor is lava!" and everyone has just 5 seconds to get both of their feet off the ground in whatever way possible. Anyone who fails to do it, loses the game.
Imagine playing the game here. The photo is taken on the edge of a boiling cauldron of lava. The volcano is on an island in the Vanuatu chain in the South Pacific.
Just a Normal Day In Russia
We know that a lot of people usually mug for the camera or even stage scenes just for the Google car, but we're pretty sure it is not staged at all.
Given that it is happening in Russia, we have a question: is it not a problem to roam the streets with a rifle?
Nature's Optical Illusion
The cliffs along the stretch of coastline are shaded, which makes it look like the ocean is about to pour onto the land.
But no, in reality those cliffs go up much higher than the ocean. If you don't believe us then take a trip to Yorkshire in the UK. It's really quite a beautiful sight.
Not Photoshopped At All
This is a 1200 foot pentagram in Kazakhstan that is as real as it gets. But there is something that is unexplainable for now.
The five-pointed star etched into Earth's surface needs to have some purpose, right? No one knows how it got there.
Can We Get One of These for Our Lawn
If you're thinking it is the set of the upcoming movie Top Gun: Maverick, we are stopping you here.
This Google Image shows what it's like to be behind the jet when it powers its engines up. Wow!
That's Called Advertisement
Look closely and you will spot the Coca-Cola sign in the desert in Chile. The sign has been drawn onto a hillside in Chile.
Have you managed to spot the Coca Cola logo? It's right there in the middle of the photo. There are also pictures of it from the ground, for the record.
A Controlled Fire
2020 has been really bad, and looking at this photo reminds us of the Australian bushfire season that started in June 2019 and ended in May 2020. The fires went on to burn 18,636,079 hectares of land.
Thankfully, this raging field fire in Arkansas was a controlled fire, as a farmer was burning his field for the next crop.
Capturing An Unpleasant Photo
Some people have taken some interesting photos with the help of Google Earth. Unfortunately, not all of them are pleasant.
This is an image of Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks. It's been many years since the attacks and still, the photo is scary and depressing.
A Quiet Neighborhood
This Google Image is of a Japan's village that is slowly being 'repopulated' with life-size dolls. Yes, you've read it right.
A Japanese woman, Ayano Tsukimi, made around 350 dolls to replace all the people who have left the village or died throughout her life. Is it just us, or are you also getting a Silent Hill vibe coming from this town? This is creepy!
Red Jell-O For Everyone
Someone captured this photo of a blood-red lake outside of Sadr City in Iraq. The explanation behind the red color is algae.
It is because the warm water's high salt concentration makes what's left of the lake an ideal breeding ground for Dunaliella algae, which can turn the water blood-red.
A Floating Forest
In the '70s, Australia sent the SS Ayrfield into retirement after serving its purpose as a supply ship in WWII.
The SS Ayrfield then earned a new life in retirement when it miraculously sprouted a lush forest of mangrove trees. Now it is a popular tourist sight.
The Wreckage Of The Costa Concordia
Costa Concordia was a vessel that met a tragic end in January 2012 after hitting an underwater rock off Isola del Giglio near Tuscany.
It was carrying 4,252 people, out of which 32 died. Half a decade after the accident, the ship has been dismantled in the port of Genoa.
Truly Horrible
This depressing photo of a gaunt horse eating garbage in Brazil shows how so many people and animals live their lives in the country.
The photo has since been replaced with new photographs, but the sad reality is that the country's conditions haven't changed so much.
A Dark Photo
This photo was taken off the skinny island north of the Russian mainland. Now that we have seen it, one wonders what happened to this poor soul.
According to one commenter on Imgur, this is the "site of the world's largest nuclear detonation, Tsar Bomba."
Mother Nature, Was It You?
So this giant face has eroded into clay in Alberta, Canada. It is a geomorphological feature that seems to be wearing a full Indigenous type of headdress.
No one knows how it is formed, but it looks somewhat eerie. What do you think about it?
Creepy Cosplay
Although this was supposed to be an innocent cosplay, it looks way creepier when you view it from Google Earth.
Can anyone from Japan confirm that this type of thing is common in the country or not? One commenter on Facebook even believes that it is some sort of a satanic cult.
Helping Solve a Missing Person's Case
In 2006, Davie Lee Niles went missing and no one knew where he went. Then one day someone captured an image of his car inside a lake with Google Earth's help.
Authorities couldn't find the car earlier because it was too murky at the ground level.
One of The Settings from Skyfall
This is an abandoned town called Gunkanjima in Japan. It was once the most densely populated area in the world because it was dedicated to coal mining.
The island city was simply abandoned once the coal ran out. And yes, it was indeed one of the settings from the twenty-third installment in the James Bond series Skyfall.
A Secret Bunker
In New Mexico's deserts, there is a secret bunker that is believed to be the "alien space cathedral" of the Church of Scientology.
And if you look closely, you can notice that there is also a private airstrip. By the way, there are many hidden bunkers owned by rich people in the hope of staying there in case of a nuclear war or pandemic.
Underwater Aliens?
According to some theories, this is a photo of a "sea monster" taken off the coast of Antarctica's Deception Island.
Whether you believe in alien theories or not, there is still a lot to be explored. So, who knows, right?
Clean Up Mission
This is a Google image of El Bronx, an infamous ghetto in Bogota, Colombia. It seems like Colombia's armed forces raided the area. Although they cleared out everything, it still lives on in Google Street View.
It reminds us of Pablo Escobar and how he had a net worth of US $30 billion (equivalent to $59 billion as of 2019) at the time of his death.
RIP You Big Flying Machines
You may have visited graveyards in the past and felt a bit creepy vibe, but imagine visiting Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. It is more commonly known as the Airplane Boneyard.
This graveyard for aircraft was established after WWII. By the way, it is the largest site of its kind in the world.
Is That Thor's Hammer In The Middle?
Just so you know, this crater in Northern Arizona wasn't caused by Thor's hammer. It was a 150-foot slab of nickel-iron from space that caused this massive hole in the Earth nearly 50,000-years ago.
By the way, the exploding force that caused the Barringer Crater is equal to 2.5 million tons of TNT, which is 150 times the force of the Hiroshima atomic blast.
An Unsettling Image
Google Earth blurred out the home of Ariel Castro. The Ariel Castro kidnappings took place between 2002 and 2004. It was the kidnapping of Michelle Knight, Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, and Amanda Berry. Ariel Castro held them captive until May 6, 2013, when Berry finally escaped with her six-year-old daughter (she had given birth to her in captivity). Police were able to rescue DeJesus and Knight and arrested Castro as well.
Although Castro was sentenced to life, he hung himself with his bedsheets in a prison cell. His house was demolished and Google Earth blurred out the place.
An Unimaginable Way of Living
This is one of the sights you can find on Google Street View. The image is of Lunik IX in Slovakia. It is an infamous Roma ghetto in which there is not much running water, heating, or electricity.
It's a tough place to live, but most of us wouldn't even know about it if it weren't for Google Earth.
That's Right, Look Away!
If you're thinking this teen is just trying to scare someone with his gun, it might be true. After all, why would someone point a gun at the Google car? Or maybe he is trying to intimidate the driver.
The police ended up coming to this house afterwards as well and discovering some truly horrifying things. The family was arrested as a result.
Social Distancing
Jon Rafman is a Canadian artist who likes to take interesting screenshots on Google Earth and post them online.
Although some of his screenshots are really interesting, this one looks creepy. We'd love to find out more about what's going on here.
Yeah, Now It is Less Terrifying, Right?
At first, it may look like you are staring at dumpsters with bodies in and around them. But there's nothing to worry about because they're just a bunch of dummies.
Still, it looks creepy because mannequins look scary. We don't know about you but mannequins do scare the hell out of us.
A Strange And Mysterious Dock
This aerial view of a dock looks quite sinister, right? Maybe it is used to dumb bodies into the water.
Who knows it might even be a scene right out of Law & Order. What do you think about it?
The Final Resting Place
The is SS Jassim, a Bolivian cargo ferry that sunk on the Wingate Reef off the coast of Sudan in 2003.
As of now, it is considered one of the largest shipwrecks visible on Google Earth.
Drive Safely Everyone
The Google cameras caught the aftermath of a collision at a major intersection. It seems to be the result of carelessness from one of the drivers who was rushing through a stop sign.
We can only hope everyone was okay. Everyone just keep in mind that it is better late than never.
Desert Artwork At Its Best
This is Desert Breath, a desert art project created by the D.A.ST. Arteam. This million square foot artwork is still visible after over two decades.
By the way, the center is a 30-meter diameter vessel formed in a W-shaped section.
Swastika-Shaped Building Complex
Thanks to the internet and Google Earth, people found this navy complex. As expected, there was an initial controversy which led to many bloggers, lawmakers, anti-discrimination activists, and even one talk-radio host to take action.
Such was the criticism that the Navy added $600,000 to its 2008 budget to camouflage the base.
The Hunt For Water
This is a huge herd of water buffalo in Kigosi Game Reserve, Tanzania. Water buffalos live in herds as it provides protection to them against predators.
They do migrate in search of water as they have to beat the heat by submerging themselves in the muddy waters.
A Firefox Logo
The Firefox logo in a cornfield prompted some people to start wondering if some alien technology completed it. In reality, the Oregon State University Linxus Users group created the giant logo in 2006.
The logo spanned 45,000 sq.ft. They worked on it to celebrate the web browser's 50 millionth download.
Guitar-Shaped Forest
This forest is located in the fertile agricultural region of Argentina's 'Pampas.' The guitar-shaped forest is made up of about 7,000 cypress and eucalyptus trees.
By the way, the forest is the result of all the efforts of a farmer named Pedro Martin Ureta who planted the forest in the memory of his wife.
A Perfect Valentine's Day Spot
There is a heart-shaped lake in Columbia Station, Ohio, USA. It looks like the best place to propose to someone you love. After all, how often you get to see a lake shaped like a heart?
By the way, the coordinates of the lake are 41.303921, -81.901693. You’re welcome.
Mysterious Desert Pattern
This is China's Gobi Desert. Experts believe that it is a secret military base because the structures look like they're used for weapon testing, spy satellite deployment, and testing of radar instrumentation.
The most elaborate feature of these mysterious structures and patterns is an intricate grid of straight lines that weave back and forth.
This Is Mapvertising
If you thought only a limited number of people use Google Earth in their free time, you were wrong.
Big names like KFC are fully aware of the potential of Google Earth and that's why they came up with an enormous advertisement in a concept known as "mapvertising."
That's Bull's Eye
In the Middle East, a "wheel" looks like a bull's eye and there are three triangles pointing toward the eye. There are also small piles of stones leading from the triangles toward the eye.
David Kennedy from the University of Western Australia calls it "a central bull's eye tomb."
For The Love of Lion King
It seems like someone in the UK is a big fan of the Lion King. We are not sure if it is Simba or Mufasa.
Nevertheless, it is quite amazing. By the way, the coordinates of the Lion King are 51.848637, -0.55462.
"What? I'm Just Getting Some Water"
Somewhere in a rural part of Brazil, the Google Streetview car was driving by when they captured this horse down by the lake. The gorgeous white horse at the end of the dirt road looks like a ray of light compared to its surroundings.
The rest of the area is a bit rundown, with garbage on the side of the road, but the horse distracts you from all of that. It must have stopped to get some water, and it was shocking to see a car driving by in that area.