Where On Google Earth #572

Little did I know that I would be opening up a can of worms with the fact that I was able to find the location for Ole's 571 but was not really able to identify the geology that Ole was looking for with his additional comment "...what I am after happend when it IS bad."

This link from the Milford Lodge has enough geology for me as a non-geologist. This other site from http://www.fergusmurraysculpture.com has more.

Contest #572:



As always, the first person to post the position and whatever is interesting about the geology/hydrology/geowhatever in this location, wins the privilege of hosting the next WoGE.

Previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his blog and a KML file.

No Schott rule for this contest.

Where On Google Earth #568

Something about Felix's image for contest 567 struck me as familiar, probably after searching long and hard through deserts across the southwestern US for previous contests, and it was not long before I came across Blackhawk Landslide, off the northside of the San Bernardino Mountains, just east of LA. Location: 34.41N 116.79W.

From a thesis on the geology and mechanics of the slide at http://thesis.library.caltech.edu/691/" is this explanation.

Blackhawk Mountain, a resistant mass of marble thrust northward over uncemented sandstone and weathered gneiss, rises above southeastern Lucerne Valley at the eastern end of the rugged 4000-foot escarpment that separates the San Bernardino Mountains on the south from the Mojave Desert on the north. Spread out on the alluvial apron at the foot of the mountain is the Blackhawk rockslide, a lobe of nearly monolithologic marble breccia 30 to 100 feet thick, 2 miles wide, and nearly 5 miles long. At least two earlier similar but smaller rockslides have occurred in the area.

The rocks of the area comprise late Tertiary and Quaternary fanglomerates and breccias derived mainly from the gneiss, quartzite, Carboniferous marble, and Cretaceous quartz-monzonite of the San Bernardino Mountains. Uplift of Blackhawk Mountain occurred in two stages after deposition of the older fanglomerates and breccias: the first by over-thrusting from the south, and the second by monoclinal folding along a northwest-trending axis.

Geological evidence in the area shows that the Blackhawk rockslide traversed the gently inclined alluvial slope as a nearly nondeforming sheet of breccia moving more than 50 miles per hour. The hypothesis that compressed air, rather than water or mud, constituted the lubricating layer on which the breccia sheet slid qualitatively explains all of the principal physical features of the slide lobe. Theoretical analysis of the flow in the lubricating air layer indicates the quantitative feasibility of the air-lubrication hypothesis for the Blackhawk slide.

Contest #568:



Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog with a KML file available with all WoGEs.

Where on Google Earth #563

Elisabeth gave us a really tough contest with her 562 - I searched long and hard over northern latitudes looking for fault lines and straight valleys.

In the end, the hint led me to an island in my own country: Cape Breton Island. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ns/cbreton/natcul/natcul1/a/iii.aspx has the following information on this interesting geological feature.

The most spectacular fault in Cape Breton National Park is the Aspy Fault which extends 40 kilometres from the centre of the highlands to the ocean. Before the Atlantic Ocean formed, it may even have connected to faults in Europe like Scotland's Great Glen Fault, home to Loch Ness.

Streams in the park cut down into the plateau, forming deep V-shaped canyons. Running water naturally follows depressions in the land, so several rivers in the park follow fault lines. The eroding action of the water as well as the presence of the fault combine to form very deep canyons. The Aspy River flows down the Aspy Fault line in a very dramatic canyon which can be seen from the Cabot Trail.

Contest #563 - hint: it's an island.



Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog with a KML file available with all WoGEs.

The Schott rule applies for this contest (1 hour for every previous win) - published at 19.35 UTC, May 3rd, 2016

Where on Google Earth #561

Elisabeth was kind to us with contest 558, but after several previous contests looking for volcanic activity of many kinds, my eye went straight to Iceland, where I was able to track the exact location down.

Once again, the hard part was identifying the geological feature... the Dieldartunguvhev hot spring in the centre of the image - for more information about this spot, go to this link: Deildartunguhver thermal spring

Contest #561:



Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog with a KML file available with all WoGEs.

I will invoke the Schott rule again: one hour delay for each previous win.

Published at 1625 UTC, April 25, 2016

Where on Google Earth #559

Elisabeth gave us a real challenge with contest 558, based on the number of days it remained unsolved by players in the game - as well as how much of the world I had to search trying to find the correct combination of water and rock colours. I was not able to figure out the geological feature and had to resort to scanning GE for hours.

In the end, it was the northern part of Antelope Island, located in the south east corner of Great Salt Lake, Utah. The website for the state park located on the island mentions this for the geology:

Geology is the foundation for Antelope Island, and reveals a long history of complex geologic processes. Rocks on the island range from the oldest to the youngest in the state of Utah. Five periods of geologic time are preserved in detail. Unconformities are due to the area being elevated above sea level wherein rocks were either never deposited or were eroded away. Little is known of the geologic events represented by the older unconformities. The geology controls the collection and distribution of ground water and the location and size of springs.

Contest #559:



Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog with a KML file available with all WoGEs.

The Schott rule applies for this contest (1 hour for every previous win)

Posted at 0015 UTC April 24, 2016.

Where on Google Earth #556

The last contest from Ole (http://overburdenblog.blogspot.ca/2016/04/where-on-google-earth-555.html) was very hard for me as a non-geologist. I was able to pick out the "small" sinkholes, but Google searching took me to Guatemala, Japan and many other parts of the world that did not help. The flatness of the image did not help! Ole's hint helped a bit as it directed me towards something that had a special entrance, which turned out to be an underground river.

Luck intervened and I happened upon the Yucatan as a area of the world where there were underground rivers, and the sinkholes were "doors" into them.

Here is contest #556:



Click here for a bigger image.

Where On Google Earth #554

Paul presented us with a challenge that after the past few locations said Arizona, Utah or Nevada in the southwest USA. A quick search of northern Arizona lead me to Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, and to be more specific, the White Pocket area.

I supplied a link to an explanation of the geology in the area in contest #553. The information is repeated below.

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/03/white-pocket-vermilion-cliffs-national.html tells us that the entire area is covered in a gray rocky layer, sometimes only a few centimeters thick, above the red sandstone where the formations heave and drip that makes the entire landscape look like as if it was covered with icing sugar. In some spots the stone layers are completely twisted, just like an enormous marble cake.

The extraordinary geology at White Pocket is not easily explained. Some geologist proclaim that White Pocket is a result of “soft sediment deformation”, meaning the contortions and twisting and turning at White Pocket occurred back in Jurassic time while the sand was saturated and before the sand was completely turned into rock.

According to one retired petroleum geologist Marc Deshowitz, who studied White Pocket more than anyone else, believes the landscape was the result of a huge sand-slide mass, triggered by an earthquake, detaching from a tall dune and traveling rapidly downslope. As the mass slid and tumbled downslope, it ripped up chunks of laminated sand beneath that intermixed with the basal part of the slide. The sand mass eventually filled a large pond or oasis. This large sand mass is the featureless bleached-white sandstone or "cauliflower rock" seen today. The instantaneous loading from the sand mass caused pressure adjustments within the underlying saturated sand resulting in contortions and fluid escape structures such as sand volcanoes. Marc has identified at least 25 of these features supporting his theory.

Contest #554:



Click here for a larger image.

Where On Google Earth #550

Ole's latest image (#549: http://overburdenblog.blogspot.ca/2016/03/where-on-google-earth-549.html) was a puzzle for a little while, especially with the rotation of the image. But once I figured out which way was up, the scoured valley to the south led me to search for glaciers that collapsed, releasing a large quantity of water. Google identified one such location as the Kokla Glacier in Ossetia, Russia - looking around there gave me the answer I was looking for.

The webpage at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Kolka/ has lots of information on what happened in this event back in September 2002.

Contest #550 - credits are obliterated as they lead right to the location:



Click here for a larger image.

Previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his blog and a KML file.

No Schott rule this time.

WOGE #548 - second attempt

Second attempt - after I managed to pick a location already played back in December 2010 in contest 241: http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/2010/12/where-on-google-earth-241.html!

After my long hunt for black lava and cinder cones that took much of the Easter weekend, 547 from Paul (http://wogepaulvoestermans.blogspot.ca/2016/03/where-on-google-earth-547-in-woge-546.html) was an easier one for me. The red colour was easier to see on Google Earth, and after search Utah and Arches National Park, I moved south to Australia. There I found Kata Tjuta or The Olgas, located just to the west of Uluru.

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata_Tjuta): Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuṯa (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga cover an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone.

The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru).

Here is my second attempt to find a unique location for 548:

Go here for a bigger version: https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1451/25849202990_7c61d84599_o.jpg

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs, currently as far as 542.

No Schott rule this time - to give the geologists another chance to wrest the game away from the non-geologists!

WOGE #548

After a long hunt for black lava and cinder cones that took much of the Easter weekend, 547 from Paul (http://wogepaulvoestermans.blogspot.ca/2016/03/where-on-google-earth-547-in-woge-546.html) was an easier one for me. The red colour was easier to see on Google Earth, and after search Utah and Arches National Park, I moved south to Australia. There I found Kata Tjuta or The Olgas, located just to the west of Uluru.

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata_Tjuta): Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuṯa (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga cover an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone.

The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru).[1] Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.

Contest #548 is not red, but shades of blue, green and beige.



Go here for a bigger version: https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1563/26037026881_f48206c0c0_o.jpg

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs.

No Schott rule this time - to give the geologists a chance to wrest the game away from the non-geologists!

Where on Google Earth #544

Felix provided us with an interesting location that initially had me hunting in the Northern Hemisphere for many days before reassessing the shadow pattern and moving south. It was luck that ended up with me scanning South Africa for a circular pattern with small towns along the northern edge.

I hope that 544 provides an interesting search.



Go to https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1660/25866274252_fc5ea95fa9_b.jpg for a larger image

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs. Schott rule applies for this contest (1 hour for every previous win)

Posted at 1545 UTC March 22, 2016.

Where on Google Earth #536

Paul posted a picture of Sedona, Arizona in the USA for us in contest 535.

The red colours in the picture led me to the southwest US, and quickly I was able to identify the location of the image as the town and surrounding of the picturesque town of Sedona.

http://www.arizonaruins.com/sedona/sedona_geology.html has lots of information about the geology of this part of the world.

This contest has a interesting feature to help the searchers narrow down the location.

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs.

The Schott rule is in place for this contest. Posted at 1920 UTC, February 24th, 2016

Where on Google Earth #534

Paul took us to Iceland and the mid-Atlantic Ridge in Þingvellir National Park for contest 533.

Þingvellir is notable for its unusual tectonic and volcanic environment in a rift valley.

The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region, the largest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. This also causes the often measurable earthquakes in the area.

Some of the rifts are full of clear water. One, Nikulásargjá, is better known as Peningagjá (lit. "coin fissure"), as its bottom is littered with coins. After being bridged in 1907 for the occasion of the visit of King Frederick VIII of Denmark, visitors began to throw coins in the fissure, a tradition based on European legends.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eingvellir

For contest 534, we stay in a green part of the world.



Go here for a larger image.

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs.  Schott rule applies for this contest (1 hour for every previous win)

Posted at 0455 UTC February 24, 2016.

Where on Google Earth #532

Paul Voestermans, a first time winner in WOGE, gave us an image showing Mount Eiger in Switzerland.  I was lucky to recognize the terrain as on the northern edge of the Alps and then it was a matter of hunting down the exact location.

Mount Eiger has been the site of many deaths of climbers trying to ascend the steep north face, and also the location of many rockfalls over the years.  The last major one was in July 2006, when a chunk of rock as big as a skyscraper fell.  (http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060717/full/news060717-3.html)

For the next contest, we go somewhere a bit drier.

Go to https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1585/25155533286_64514bf60a_b.jpg for a larger image

Rules, tips and previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his http://woge-felix.blogspot.ca/ blog and a KML file is available with all WoGEs.  Schott rule applies for this contest (1 hour for every previous win)

Posted at 0025 UTC February 22, 2016.

Where On Google Earth #529

WOGE 528 was quite easy to solve - the problem for me as a non-geologist was to identify the geological feature at this location. 

Luckily Google was able to help me out with a link to a Scientific American blog (http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/january-11-1771-the-birthday-of-lake-alleghe/) with details on the catastrophic landslide event that occurred in January 1771, and resulted in Lake Alleghe forming in this location.

Click here for a bigger image