Sandwiched between Kazakhstan to the north and Uzbekistan to the south, this is the dying Aral Sea. Wikipedia says:

Since the 1960s the Aral Sea has been shrinking, as the rivers that feed it (the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya) were diverted by the Soviet Union for irrigation.

In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world’s fourth-largest lake, but today it has lost 80% of its volume. You can clearly see how much the water has receeded recently by comparing the satellite image with Google’s own map view (there’s no high-resolution imagery, otherwise we might be able to see some abandoned ships), and even more so by comparing it to this satellite image taken in 1985.

To make matters even worse, the ecosystem of the Aral Sea has been nearly destroyed due to high levels of salinity, industrial projects and fertilizer runoff. Not to mention a biological weapons laboratory on the Vozrozhdeniya Island…

For more information on this fascinating environmental catastrophe, make sure you read the Wikipedia page.

Thanks to Daniel Pereira, Phil Gross and Pablo Bleyer.

It seems that the reservoir of the Taum Sauk pumped storage plant in Missouri burst today. The reservoir sits on top of Proffit Mountain, some 800 feet above the hydroelectric plant, and when a section of the reservoir collapsed, it sent a 20 foot crest of water down the Black River, washing away homes and cars in its path.

Details are still unclear, but for more information on the story, you could try the Google News coverage.

Thanks to Ned Mitchell.

I’m not sure what it’s like where you are… but here in Edinburgh, Christmas seems to be well underway, despite the fact that at time of writing we’re still 19 days away…

Presumably the U.S. National Christmas Tree (a 40-foot Colorado blue spruce) has been lit by now, and even although it isn’t decorated in this satellite image, it has got a very cool shadow.

Apparently there are 36 million Christmas trees produced each year, and looking at the list of Christmas Tree farms in the US you can totally believe it. Totally at random, here’s a small farm near Janesville, Iowa.

Back here in the UK, one of the few christmas tree farms I can find with high-resolution imagery is Elveden Farms, near Cambridge, which has this cool x-shaped plantation of trees.

Finally, if you live in or around Edinburgh and have yet to pick up a tree for this year, consider getting one through the Bethany’s Caring Christmas Trees site, as for each tree bought, they will provide a homeless person with a hot meal, a bed for the night, and breakfast. You’ll have to hurry though, as there’s only six days left to reserve your tree!

See Wikipedia for the full unabridged history of the Christmas Tree.

Thanks to Ben Brockert and Hinkkanen.

These are the Flatirons, an incredible rock formation near Boulder, Colorado. Don’t quite see what you’re looking at? Tilt your head 90 degrees to the left…

More information on the Wikipedia page.

Thanks to Geoff.

A 30 mile chain of limestone shoals connect the islands of Mannar, near Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the coast of India. The bridge is known as Rama’s bridge in Hindu mythology and Adam’s bridge in Christian mythology.

Some archaeologists have claimed to prove the bridge is man-made, although not all are convinced. It does look like a very convenient connection and it is agreed that as late as the 15th century it was possible to pass the bridge on foot.

More about the bridge, as ever, at wikipedia.

Thanks: Jane Turnbull (my mum!)