Something fun- Where is this?

[elliput]

For you old timers- I received a "Where is this?" request, so here is one for you to ponder.

For those of you unfamiliar with this- I pull a satellite image from Google Earth and you get to guess what you are looking at. Please feel free to comment and discuss. :D

Have fun!

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m187/elliput/wit11112008.jpg

[hbridge]

Looks like the Middle East to me... UAE...Abu Dhabi?

[bubbaray]

Oh man, I remember these and I SUCK at geography, LOL.

I guess Egypt, Cairo to be exact. Not that I really know, its just a guess, LOL.

[Fairy]

Yay, Erica!!!

Ok, that is definitely sand. Dessert. And alot of organized civilization to the East. What's that big red thingie leading out to the dessert? I see no real waterways, but it does seem like the red thing could be the road to the Valley of the Kings? But ... why red? And where's the Nile?

I'll guess Cairo?

[elektra]

I am curious about that red river thing too. Weird how it just starts at the edge of the city.

[Fairy]

And what are all those black dots, cacti?

[Fairy]

Ya know what, it can't be Egypt. At that huge distance and area we're seeing,t he Nile is missing. It's something else; something very inhabited.

[saschalicks]

I'm going to say Jordan. Just guessing. :hysterical:

[kristenk]

Oh, hooray! I missed your Geo Challenges! Now to figure out where it is...

[shawnandangel]

Rabba Jordan?

[ilfaith]

How about Las Vegas, NV?

[mamaoftwins]

How about Las Vegas, NV?

Yes! That's what I was just going to post.

[Fairy]

I could be on board with Jordan. But ... what's the red thing?

[trales]

The tree things look green to me. That would rule out the middle east. Morocco maybe?

[MamaMolly]

Is the red thing the San Andreas Fault?

[Fairy]

Vegas. Hmm. I'd think you should be able to see some of the strip from this distance, especially the Luxor tip, which you can see from space. But I agree that those blips are green, so maybe not middle east. New Mexico? There's a Red River in New Mexico ... but I dunno if this would be it?

[Fairy]

Hint Please!!

[Georgia]

I'd say it's an ancient city based on the more organic looking central part with the grid like streets surrounding it. Almost looks like there could have been a wall around that central bit at some point. So I'd rule out Vegas, but that's about all I've got!

[elliput]

This ancient city is at the crossroads of desert trade routes and has a fabled status.

[swrc00]

How about Timbuktu/Tombouctou?

[niccig]

Beijing?

Can you give us more clues?

[fivi2]

Is googling the clues cheating...? not too sure of the rules here :) I did figure it out, but only thanks to the magic of google! Afraid that is not how I am supposed to play, but I couldn't resist!

[LBW]

How about Timbuktu/Tombouctou?

That's it! Yay!


I've missed these. I'm hoping you'll keep doing them.

[niccig]

How about Timbuktu/Tombouctou?

yep, it's Timbuktu. I just looked on google earth. But what is that red line? Is it a road into town?

[swrc00]

a road maybe?

[Fairy]

Ok, Timbuktu. Nice! But what the heck is that red thing? It can't be a road cuz it's visible from space. I zoomed way in on Google Earth, and it looks like a trench of some kind. I'm good at Geography in general, but I'm a bit deficient here. Not sure what that is. But it goes pretty far west.

[shawnandangel]

how do you post an image from google earth? I was going to post a pic of some cars on the red thing. There are tire tracks on the red path and also tire tracks going off of the path.

[kristenk]

The red line is definitely a road. If you look at Timbuktu in Google Earth, you can zoom in even more and see tire tracks leading through the sand and back onto the road. Pretty cool!

[shilo]

from the encyclopedia britanica about the areas outside the niger river delta area (timbuktu is apparently 8 miles away from the delta basin itself):

"The soils outside the Niger valley in Mali are poor. In the south, ferruginous (iron-bearing) soils are shallow and form a hard, red crust because of intense evaporation. The desert region is composed of sand, rock, and gravel."

so it would appear that the dark red line exiting the city would likely be the drainage channel exiting the city in addition to a road??? which turns red in the dry season b/c of the evaporation in the iron rich soil...?

it also says the high water season is july-january, dry season peaks may-june. would be interesting to see a photo taken during the wet season, no?


hooray for the return of the geo-challenges! neat stuff.

[Fairy]

from the encyclopedia britanica about the areas outside the niger river delta area (timbuktu is apparently 8 miles away from the delta basin itself):

"The soils outside the Niger valley in Mali are poor. In the south, ferruginous (iron-bearing) soils are shallow and form a hard, red crust because of intense evaporation. The desert region is composed of sand, rock, and gravel."

so it would appear that the dark red line exiting the city would likely be the drainage channel exiting the city in addition to a road??? which turns red in the dry season b/c of the evaporation in the iron rich soil...?

it also says the high water season is july-january, dry season peaks may-june. would be interesting to see a photo taken during the wet season, no?


hooray for the return of the geo-challenges! neat stuff.

Whew! That was gonna bother me all night. Thanks!

[elliput]

Nope, that is not cheating at all. I call that using the resources available to you!

[elliput]

:bighand: Very good!

[elliput]

I save as a jpg, crop out the coordinates, resize, upload to photobucket, and then paste the IMG code in my post. whew.

[elliput]

Cool info, Lori! :thumbsup:

The red line/road is what caught my eye also, so I knew it would throw you all for a loop!

[elektra]

More please. :)

[elliput]

:ROTFLMAO: I see you're hooked already!

[mommyp]

Fun challenge, I like it! Can't wait for the next one, maybe I'll get it before I read through the answers!