By now, most of you have either downloaded or are at least aware of Google Earth. The program, which utilizes satellite imagery and aerial photographs to map the earth in amazing detail, can be used for a variety of reasons. Some people use it to locate areas they have lived or traveled, while others use it to visit remote places of the planet that one would not otherwise be able to see. I belong to this group, as I am sure many others are as well. Google Earth is the perfect tool to explore and discover the physical remains of ancient cultures or unexplained anomalies found throughout this wonderful world. Believe it or not, amazing discoveries have been found using this program.
In this article I have identified ten mysterious places (in no particular order) that I have found quite fascinating. In addition to the photographs imaged through Google Earth, I have also provided a brief description of the area and its actual coordinates so you can visit these strange and fascinating places yourself through Google Earth. Please click these photos to see them in larger size.
The Badlands Guardian
10. The Badlands Guardian. Coordinates: 50° 0’36.30″N, 110° 6’46.82″W. The Badlands Guardian was one of those mysterious places that was first discovered by Lynn Hickox utilizing the Google Earth program. Although this area is a completely natural geological feature in southwest Alberta, Canada, one cannot help but notice the striking resemblance of a human head wearing his full native American headdress. Some have also claimed that the figure appears to be wearing earphones, which is nothing more than a road leading to an oil well. Even though this area is a natural formation, it is amazingly ironic to see these arid badlands formations resemble the fully detailed shape of the very same indigenous people that lived in these lands.
Egyptian Ruins
9. Egyptian Ruins. Coordinates: 29°32’7.65″N, 30°40’7.88″E. It doesn’t take long to discover an interesting find when using Google Earth to explore the shifting sands of Egypt. As you can see from this attached image, the angles and straight lines of what appears to be a fortification wall protecting smaller similar structures in the interior. If you use Google Earth to explore the surrounding area, you can see additional suspected man made ruins buried in the desert sand. I am not sure if the ruins captioned in this photograph have been thoroughly explored, but experts do state only a fraction of ancient Egypt has been discovered. Every year new tombs, structures and even pyramids are rediscovered in this ancient land.
Machu Picchu
8. Machu Picchu. Coordinates: 13° 9’49.69″S, 72°32’42.65″W. Located on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, Machu Picchu is considered one of the most mystical sites on our planet. Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site built around 1400 AD. The area only thrived for 100 years and the place was abandoned following the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire in Peru. Theories of its purpose range from it being the birthplace of the Incan “Virgins of the Suns”, an estate of the Incan emperor Pachacuti, a prison for the select few who commit extremely heinous crimes or as a settlement to control the economy of the conquered lands. For more information on Machu Picchu, please see our article here.
7. The Nazca Hummingbird.Coordinates: 14°41’32.27″S, 75° 8’56.91″W. The Nazca Hummingbird is only one of many designs and strange “air strips” sketched across the Nazca desert of Peru. These unusual man made features were first discovered in the 1930s by passengers on aircraft flying over this vast desert on the way to other destinations. The Nazca lines were created by brushing the reddish pebbles from the desert floor, which revealed the lighter colored sand underneath. Due to the lack of rainfall and wind erosion, these lines and drawing have been preserved for centuries. Their purpose remains uncertain, although one theory states the lines and drawing were created to help bring rain. For more information on the Nazca Lines, please see our article here.
