Archive for April 23rd, 2005

Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

The editors: James & Alex

Dave

Saturday, 23rd April 2005 by James

Possibly the world’s largest tagging - Dave has written his name across a field in Bunker Hill, IL. I guess he must have been really bored one day.

Dave

Update: We found Dave!

It turns out that Dave wasn’t bored one day, it was Don…

I’m the Dave, but to correct the caption, it was my neighbor Don (a farmer) who wrote my name with his plow because I fly a gyrocopter in the area. My airstrip can be seen by scrolling about 1/2 mile northeast of the name. Don’s farm and grass airstrip is about 1/2 mile south of the writing.

Dave was also kind enough to email me a couple of shots (Picture 1, Picture 2) taken from his Gryocopter.

Here are the snapshots I took during the few days the writing was in the field. Oddly the pictures from 100 - 200 feet in an open frame aircraft look very similar to the imagery from space when zoomed in.

New Dave shot

Nuclear Power Megapost

Saturday, 23rd April 2005 by

San Onofre, California

Thanks jbum & Shadis

Pickering, Onatario

Thanks Tyler

Dresden, Illinois is the USA’s first full-scale, privately financed nuclear power plant.

The cooling channels system can be seen winding through the Des Plains river and the Dresden cooling lake to the south. If you zoom all the way in, to the northeast of the reactor complex is a lumpy area of ground. This is where some spent fuel rods are buried. There were large yellow sirens placed throughout the area and dosimiters hanging on the telephone poles at most every intersection. They test the sirens on the first tuesday of the month. It’s an eerie sounding chorus that pours in through the window if there isn’t one too nearby to drown the others out.

Thanks “The Lightning Stalker”

Perry, Ohio. Apparently home to the best early-season fishing on Lake Erie thanks to the cooling water discharge from the power plant.

Thanks Tim

Arco, Idaho was the world’s first nuclear power plant.

Thanks “Punk Floyd”

Davis-Besse power plant, Ohio & Palo Verde, Arizona. Palo Verde’s three huge reactors give it the largest capacity of any nuclear power plant in the United States.

Thanks Stilt

The Comanche Peak Unit 2 nuclear power plant in Glen Rose, Texas.

Thanks “Flemming Bach”

Callaway, Missouri has a beautiful plume of steam (I hope) coming out of its cooling tower.

Thanks zprime

Braidwood, Illinois

Thanks Jason

Phew! There were lots, lots more but after a while they all look similar. I tried to pick the most visually interesting ones. Enjoy.

Usery Pass, Mesa

Saturday, 23rd April 2005 by

A giant sign just west of Usery Pass, Arizona pointing the way to Phoenix. Neat :)

Phoenix

Thanks: Richard Kaszeta

Overlapping seasons

Saturday, 23rd April 2005 by Alex

Check out this cool picture of overlapping seasons in Utah, and another in Missouri on the Mississippi river.

Utah Seasons

Thanks to Kyle French and Bill Keaggy.

Memphis Pyramid Arena

Saturday, 23rd April 2005 by James

The 32 story Memphis Pyramid Arena is the third largest pyramid in the world. The NBA Memphis Grizzlies play here and it seats 21,000 people.

Memphis Pyramid

Thanks: William S. Preissner