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.
Here’s a mystery for a Friday morning - why is there a giant equilateral triangle in the desert near the city of Surprise, Arizona? And why does the city have such a silly name?
It looks to me like it could be an old airfield but it could, of course, be aliens!
Thanks: Craig Simpson
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Ever wondered how they calibrated satellite cameras during the cold war? Turns out they drew great big geometric shapes in the desert at a known location and gave the satellite instructions to photograph it. This also trained crews how to give accuate instructions to satellites.
The racetrack is the Toyota Proving Grounds. I used to work there during construction during the late 80s early 90s. The triangle is an emergency airfield for Luke AFB.
Its an old airfield. If you look around the area there are about 4 or 5 more almost identical to it in size and shape. This one however is the only one which does not have other bits added to it. See directly to the east of it and also just north of maricopa.
Re: the waste disposal company
I don’t think it is piled up refuse, I think those are dumpsters, the kind you find near construction sites. They seem to be about 20 feet long, according to the legend. Deployed like that, they could just back a truck up to one, pick it up and drive away.
Muhammad and russ hit the nail on the head it is an AUX field from Luke AFB. I am In the Air Force and have heard of it from older airman and also my uncle who was stationed out there about 20 years ago.
If you take a look at the bottom left of the triangle and mesaure up .12 of a mile you will see an old airplane i suppose left there many years ago. Or i could be insane and seeing things.
Russ is right. I live near here in Peoria. This is a military area, and there are all kinds of old airfields and runways out yonder…
I grew up in wittmann az near those strange things! i didn’t know about them til just a couple months ago. crazy shit went on out there!
zorg: darling, the ufo’s broken down again!
nice one
Sorry guys no mystery here, this is an old landing strip the multiple directions allow for taking off and landing in multiple wind directions. They are common in the old air fields that are around luke air base to areas of the goldwater bombing range.
Old triangular airfields were very common for the reasons mentioned here. However they often intersected (not always). This to me doesnt show any sign of surfacing such as gravel and perhaps is in fact an old bombing target. I grew up near an aerial bombing range in Australia which is in fact still in use. The target used for approach is a large triangle which I think this is more likely to be.
Is it only me who can see the little planes? They look oddly pale and landed at odd angles. One in water it seems?!
hey its weird cause there is a giant triangle in the dessert and im studying it do you have some info on it.
hey that is weird with a triangle in the dessert do you have any more info on it i really want to know im studying it .
Not sure if anyone has posted anything like this but, I used to live there. I lived off 161st and Skinner Rd in Surprise. I might sound like a weirdo but I used to see crazy stuff out there all the time. I remember when i was a kid around the early 1990’s there was a very large brush fire that went along the highway (Hwy 60+ 163rd Ave) and where the triangle shows up. Those google satillite shots were taken after that fire. Where did those triangles come from?? If anyone out there knows anything about it, please let me know.
mikevillav@gmail.com
Mike - muhhamed already found what this was and posted a link on the first page of comments. Here it is again for you:
http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/AZ/Airfields_AZ_Phoenix_NW.htm
Scroll to the bottom to see this location. It’s called Luke Auxiliary Army Airfield #4.
if you look under the long road at the bottom of the triangle in the middle and zoom in their is a little feild….wonder what that was used 4?
can someone explain the extrange circular shapes by the triangles?