# Share your GoogleEarth 'what is that?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190 "2006-03-05T23:05:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/81 "2006-03-10T21:57:17Z")
A [giant sperm](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=belfast&ll=54.576589,-5.929806&spn=0.001393,0.005407&t=k) coming up the river Lagan in Belfast? Nah, just some oxygenation going on methinks ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/82 "2006-03-10T22:14:35Z")
> [@Armilla](#): > > [This thing](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Wright-Patterson+Air+Force+Base&t=k&ll=51.471874,-0.433378&spn=0.001053,0.002827&t=k) at Heathrow airport. > > I figure it’s either a mock-up to practice firefighting on, or the strange offspring of the forbdden love between an F-104 Starfighter and an Airbus. Thunderbird 2! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/83 "2006-03-10T22:56:26Z")
[USS Texas (BB-35)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Texas): [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=la+porte,+tx&ll=29.756279,-95.089695&spn=0.003907,0.00787&t=h](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=la+porte,+tx&ll=29.756279,-95.089695&spn=0.003907,0.00787&t=h) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/84 "2006-03-10T23:32:20Z")
All these links to battleships. Here’s one a little bit older: [HMS Victory](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=portsmouth+england&t=h&ll=50.801748,-1.109482&spn=0.001288,0.00339&t=h), the oldest commissioned ship in the world. If you pan a bit to the south, you can also see HMS Warrior, and there are a whole host of modern Royal Navy ships in the vicinity as well. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/85 "2006-03-11T00:08:21Z")
Dead center of [this](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=denver+co&ll=39.747112,-104.989804&spn=0.008233,0.021114&t=k) is the Qwest building in downtown denver. Note how all of the buildings and shadows are going in one orthogonal direction…except Qwest and another building to the north east. (which was built up surrounding a church, incidentally) What’s really freaky is: the way they rotated the Qwest Building, it completely blots out a big black all glass hotel. I go there frequently for Starbucks coffee. It’s really there. Honest. If you don’t see me post again, the black helicopters got me. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/86 "2006-03-11T00:22:02Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > In my neighborhood there’s [this](http://www.google.com/lochp?hl=en&q=&t=k&ll=37.784351,-122.325039&spn=0.02944,0.05785&t=k) highway to nowhere. It’s actually the freeway built for the movie Matrix Reloaded. There’s not much there now, except once a month it turns into a huge antiques fair. Looks like they tore down the walls…if you zoom in, you can see where the SCCA seems to be holding a raceing event. (I’m assuming this because they used to do that at Stapleton International after they decommissioned it.) ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/87 "2006-03-11T08:00:58Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > In my neighborhood there’s [this](http://www.google.com/lochp?hl=en&q=&t=k&ll=37.784351,-122.325039&spn=0.02944,0.05785&t=k) highway to nowhere. It’s actually the freeway built for the movie Matrix Reloaded. There’s not much there now, except once a month it turns into a huge antiques fair. You can also see the USS Hornet to the lower right. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/88 "2006-03-11T08:50:24Z")
[Holes.](http://maps.google.com/?ll=43.442232,-113.529695&spn=0.003206,0.005289&t=h) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/89 "2006-03-11T18:22:24Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > You can also see the USS Hornet to the lower right. And another SCCA-style racetrack in the middle of an empty parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/90 "2006-03-11T19:01:21Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > You can also see the USS Hornet to the lower right. [USS John F Kennedy](http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&hl=en&ll=30.396767,-81.408005&spn=0.002346,0.003508&t=k) at Mayport. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/91 "2006-03-14T15:39:13Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > **UncleRojelio** , if the Philadelphia ship that you mean is the one about 1300m northwest of the center of **Survey1215** ’s image, on the other side of the shipyard, that’s the heavy cruiser [USS Des Moines](http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/04134.htm). Turns out that the _USS Des Moines_ has a sister. The _[USS Salem](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Quincy,+Massachusetts&ll=42.244196,-70.970406&spn=0.00132,0.002816&t=k)_ is a museum ship in Quincy, MA. Ma, between Wikipedia, Google and Google Maps, you can find anything ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/92 "2006-03-16T07:39:57Z")
I was in Colorado just now. Just above Boulder, to the southeast near Route 36, someone has sunk a big triangular pit with terraced sides. It looks like a quarry, but the triangular shape really stands out from above as a giant geoglyph. I love that word _GEOGLYPH!_ Everybody please post any geoglyphs you might find as you scan the world. Then shall I know that scanners have _not_ lived in vain. I zoomed in to the Red Rocks Amphitheater west of Denver, just north of Morrison, for a closeup. In the weird red rocks just above the stage to the southeast, I saw an _alien face_. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/93 "2006-03-16T13:18:53Z")
This is in Mauritania in the middle of the Sahara. I have no idea what it is. https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Mauritania&ll=21.131902,-11.379089&spn=0.324718,0.672913&t=k ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/94 "2006-03-16T13:44:10Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > It was pointed out at work the other day that Boeing lost an airplane in Lake Washington. It can be seen just offshore. > > [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/?ll=47.50327,-122.207456&spn=0.000585,0.001207&t=h) There are a number of planes in Lake Washington, a train engine too. My husband is a fire fighter for Boeing. He had to help rescue the Navy diver that stayed down too long when they were trying to bring an old WWII plane off the bottom. They ended up breaking it in half because they didn’t take into account all the silt that had collected inside. [/end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/95 "2006-03-16T13:53:18Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > This is in Mauritania in the middle of the Sahara. I have no idea what it is. > [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Mauritania&ll=21.131902,-11.379089&spn=0.324718,0.672913&t=k) It’s called the [Richat Structure.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richat_Structure) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/96 "2006-03-16T16:34:12Z")
So how _do_ you prepare and link to these images? As soon as I got Google Earth, I didn’t take time to figure out how all the functionality worked. I just leapt immediately into playing with it. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/97 "2006-03-16T16:38:41Z")
I’m lazy, I just use [ultrasnap](http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Multimedia_and_Graphics/Screen_Capture_Tools/UltraSnap.html) to do a screen capture of the image I want in Google Earth 🙂 With Google Maps, just click the link button displayed in the maps, and copy the resulting link from your browser’s address bar. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/98 "2006-03-16T16:48:48Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > So how _do_ you prepare and link to these images? As soon as I got Google Earth, I didn’t take time to figure out how all the functionality worked. I just leapt immediately into playing with it. Look in the top right corner: “Link to this page”. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/99 "2006-03-16T16:51:17Z")
It is not Google Earth but Google Maps, which is essentially an online version of Google Earth. > **[Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps)** > > Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. Use the navigation controls to zoom and pan to whatever part of the world you’d like to look at. Click on the “Map”, “Satalite”, and “Hybrid” buttons to change the type of image displayed. Click on “link to this page” to have a url for current view displayed in the browser address bar. [My home town, in low res unfortunately.](http://maps.google.com/?ll=-17.963058,122.212257&spn=0.078218,0.116386&t=k) (Zoom out for an appreciation of how remote we are from civilisation.) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190/100 "2006-03-16T16:56:29Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > So how _do_ you prepare and link to these images? As soon as I got Google Earth, I didn’t take time to figure out how all the functionality worked. I just leapt immediately into playing with it. Well, the people in this thread are not linking to Google Earth (the program that you download on your computer). They’re linking to Google Maps, which doesn’t require you to have Google Earth installed. All you do to link is go to [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/), find the place you want, zoom in to an appropriate level, then click on the place at the top-right of the map/image where it says “Link to this page.” A new, specific URL will appear in the address bar of your browser. Copy that and paste it in this thread. Or, in Firefox (and probably other browsers too) you can simply right-click “Link to this page” and then click “Copy link location” in the context menu. Sharing locations using Google Earth with other users of the program is a slightly different process, and involves sharing an actual file with them. You find your place on Google Earth, and add it as a placemark (Add \> Placemark). Once you’ve named it and added it, go to the Places menu on the left of the window, right-click on the placemark you just added, and click “Save as” in the context menu. This allows you to save a .kmz file to your computer’s hard drive. You can then share this file with others (via email, the web, etc.), and when they click on it they will be taken to your placemark’s location. For example, [here](https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/mhender4/public_html/gen_images/richate.kmz) is a placemark i’ve created for **UncleRojelio** ’s Richate formation in Mauritania. If you open Google Earth and click on the link, it will take you directly to that place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-googleearth-what-is-that/347190.md?page=6)