Located in close proximity to the Tar Creek Superfund Site, the citizens of Picher have been left to deal with toxic mine tailings left over from underground drilling operations. These tailing piles, known locally as “Chat“, litter the landscape, some towering one hundred metres or more above the town.

Aside from detracting from Picher’s overall scenic beauty, these chat piles contain extremely fine lead dust and pose a tremendous health risk to its citizens. Children are especially susceptible to the toxic dust because elevated levels of lead in their blood can lead to learning disabilities. Lead and zinc have even contaminated Picher’s drinking water as well as many swimming holes frequented by local youngsters.

To make matters worse, the kilometres of abandoned mining tunnels below the town have been collapsing since the 1950s and continue to do so even today. Due to this geological instability, much of the town has been deemed unsafe for habitation leaving many former commercial and residential blocks in disrepair.

In 1983, Picher and its surrounding mines were declared one of the most polluted places in the United States and became a top clean-up priority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the decades since, the EPA and the U.S. Government have made repeated attempts to relocate the residents of Picher. Though a small group of stalwart individuals have resisted relocation, the town is set to close on or around September 1 of this year. On June 13, a final farewell was held, allowing long-time residents to reflect on better times.

For more information about Picher’s history and final days take a look at this CNN article. Also worth checking out, “The Creek Runs Red” is a compelling documentary about the Tar Creek Superfund Site.

Thanks to Brian in Texas.

Locations: Oklahoma / Categories: Abandoned

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For each of these sights, I picture a confused driver arriving in town, rolling down the car window and asking a passer-by  “Can you tell me where I am?”

10. Smile, KY

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Smile!

Driver: <grinning widely> I said, can you tell me where I am?

9.  Okay, OK

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Okay.

<pause>

Driver:  I said, can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Okay.

<pause>

… repeat ad nauseam.

8. Uncertain, TX

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Uncertain.

Driver: Oh, you’re lost as well?

7. Goodnight, TX

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Goodnight.

Driver: Huh? It’s 11 o’ clock in the morning.

6. Stop, GA

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Stop.

Driver: But I am stopped …

5. Nameless, TN

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Nameless.

Driver: No wonder I can’t find where I am on this map.

4. Panic, PA

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Panic.

Driver: Aaaagh. Won’t you just tell me where I am, I’m totally lost and I can’t take it any more…

3. Halfway, Yorkshire and Halfway, OR¹

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Halfway.

Driver: Halfway to where?

Passer-by: No, you’re all the way to Halfway.

Driver: I’m confused….

2. Yell, TN

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Yell.

Driver: CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE I AM?

1. Why, AZ

Driver: Can you tell me where I am?

Passer-by: Why.

Driver: Well, I’m lost. Where am I?

Passer-by: Why.

… repeat ad nauseam.

Locations: Arizona, England, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas / Categories: Weirdness

View in Google Earth

And they make quite the sight when decorated for Christmas!

A solitary boot of almost the same height can be found in Edmonton, Alberta. Also hard to pick out on the satellite image, Live Maps’ birds eye view is somewhat better.

It’s about 30cm shorter than the pair in San Antonio, but is equally impressive when lit up!

Meanwhile, a 6.5m pair of boots – along with a 13m wide steel cowboy hat – can be found in Oxbow Park in Seattle, Washington … and on Street View and Live Maps.

These structures were relocated from their original gas station location, where the boots contained the bathrooms!

Another location with a larger-than-life cowboy hat is the mini-replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, barely visible from the nearest Street View image:

The hat was added in 1998 in an effort to one-up the residents of Paris, Tennessee after several back-and-forth attempts to create the largest replica.

And in Yukon, Oklahoma, a beautifully landscaped boot can be found in Chisholm Trail Park – named for the route of a 19th century cattle drive between Texas and Kansas. The decorative landscaping, including fountains in the two small ponds, is even more visible on Live Maps’ birds eye view.

Thanks to ‘Koty’, Ray, . and Felippo.

Locations: Alberta, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington / Categories: Street Views, Structures, Towers

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Completed three years after the WTC in 1976, the Bank of Oklahoma was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who was in fact the architect who designed the original.

Like in New York, Yamasaki had proposed a pair¹ of towers, but for some reason only one was ever built.

At 52 stories and 203 metres tall, the Bank of Oklahoma tower it is almost exactly half of the World Trade Center’s 110 stories and 415 metres, but is still the tallest tower in Oklahoma.

Does anyone else have any replicas of famous buildings to share?

Wikipedia has more on the Bank of Oklahoma tower, and believermag.com has the full story of the building. Thanks to Kottke.

Locations: Oklahoma / Categories: Buildings, Monuments, Towers

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Such a giant beast should easily be visible on the aerial and satellite photographs of Google Earth, it’s just a matter of finding them…

To start with, there’s definitely a blue whale in this Japanese swimming pool, but I don’t think that counts.

The Route 66 landmark Blue Whale slide is so famous it even appeared in Sega’s King of Route 66 video game. More info.

Outside of UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory there’s an 85-foot long Blue Whale skeleton. The female whale was washed ashore of Pescadero Beach in 1979, after dying of unknown causes.

We’ve still not found any live whales though! Off the coast of Santa Barbara there’s a 10m long grey blob that could resemble a whale, or more likely a shark. Either way it would have to be very close to the surface to be seen so easily. I’m not convinced.

‘Reverence‘ is a sculpture by Jim Sardonis, which depicts two whales seemingly diving into the grass. The tails are each 12-13 foot tall and made of granite. More info.

Back in Japan, and Ueno Park has more than tails – there’s a life size Blue Whale diving into the ground. More info.

And finally, to Argentina, where there could just be real whales.

According to whale expert wildslide these are southern right whales who breed in this area during the months of May and October. Success!

Previously on Google Sightseeing: Whales! and Beached Whale

Thanks: The many people who thought they saw a whale, including: Jonathan_Tronson, FrequentFlyer, danescombe, bagabnoosh, kjfitz, Ralph Mettier, Nick, Jim Morton, Andrew, Rking, Yoshino, Barb, Caraurta, danescombe, Todd Pearson, Andrea from Italy, Nichole, James, A30 & John Hartnup

Locations: Argentina, California, Japan, Oklahoma, Vermont, Wales / Categories: Animals, Watercraft

View in Google Earth

Starting in Britain there’s an E-3 Sentry at RAF Mildenhall. This is one of seven that the RAF purchased and named Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Bashful and Doc.

Hopping over to France we see 3 of 4 E-3s owned by the Armée de l’Air.

Further afield there’s Khorat airfield in Thailand. I think this is actually a US E-3 and part of “Cope Tiger”, an annual, multinational exercise for practising interoperability with U.S. Forces. There’s also various fighter planes to see just to the South.

The US Air Force owns 34 E-3s in total and 28 of them are stationed at Tinker AFB (although I only count 13). Tinker AFB’s claim to fame is that in 1948 the first ever Tornado warning was issused from here (about 3 hours before it hit).

Also worth seeing while we’re in the area is another Children’s Play Area and [B-52 and B-1B bombers](http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=951&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=35.411464,-97.378006&z=17 ) which, according to submitter “West,” are being refitted with new electronics to allow them to carry and drop JDAM munitions.

Thanks: Don Mecoy, Mike, DFarmer, DDA, Grant hutchins, West, pooms, CraX & teuf

Locations: England, Oklahoma, Thailand / Categories: Aircraft

View in Google Earth

At the top of the thumbnail you can see the rectangular reflecting pool with the “gates of time” at either end. In the southern half is the “Rescuers’ Orchard”, a grove of fruit and flowering trees that surround the “Survivor Tree”, an elm that survived the bombing.

Thanks: icky

Locations: Oklahoma / Categories: Monuments

View in Google Earth