30 Giant Figures Seen from Google Earth

Wed, Oct 22, 2008

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Symbols and Shapes

1. Finally, proof that giants did exist, and that they’re none too clever by leaving fingerprints behind. This tell-tale sign can be found in Hove Park, near Brighton and Hove in the UK. It measures 38 metres around. Imagine the size of the hand!
fingerprint

2. Don’t worry ladies; we’ve got something for you too. And although you can touch it and walk all over these half-mile long hill-top sperm, they’re not much use. Much like… no, that would be wrong.
sperm

3. You wouldn’t normally find New Zealand’s national symbol in the English countryside but in 1919, after World War I, New Zealand soldiers staying at camp in Beacon Hill in Wiltshire etched the bird into the grounds. A riot had broken out among the troops while they were waiting for their boats home so officers put them to work creating a giant kiwi along with the letters ‘NZ’ to keep the rowdy bunch out of trouble. The kiwi’s body is 6,100 sq m and the beak alone is 46 m long. That’s a big bird.
kiwi

4. In the early days of Firefox, a few devoted fans wanted to generate more PR for their beloved site and so gathered a team of people in Amity, Oregon to recreate the Firefox logo in a field; their very own crop fox. It has long since grown out but this overlaid image is a recreation of the original design within Google Earth.
firefox

Versailles1. 12 Faces of Google Earth >

Fingerprint2. Bodies and Body Parts >

5. This swastika-shaped building on a US Navy base in California was never designed to entice as much speculation as it has. Some people think the architect designed the building purely to maximize light in the space given as well as to allow for greenspaces around the site. Others think the building should be amended so that it no longer looks like a symbol associated with so much bad history.
swastika building

6. This celestial-looking triangle was spotted in the desert north of Vegas. We’re not sure what it is or why it was created, so if anyone has any clues, please enlighten us.
triangle

7. The effects of logging are all too visible when viewed from Google Earth, but, here, some of the loggers seem to have a conscience as well as an aesthetic eye, producing a chessboard-like landscape.
chessboard

8. The farmer of this land has obviously gone all creative on his days off producing a great image of a tractor in one of the fields.
tractor

9. Few people will have not seen this image of one many sea-based hotels built in Dubai. The Palm Jumeirah is a unique man-made island built in the shape of a date palm tree. It consists of a trunk, 17 fronds and a surrounding crescent island, which forms a water-breaker. And don’t get us started on the damage caused to the environment during the build, and since.
palm dubai

Versailles1. 12 Faces of Google Earth >

Fingerprint2. Bodies and Body Parts >

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This post was written by:

Linda McCormick - who has written 175 posts on Environmental Graffiti.

Linda is a writer and editor, currently based in London. Growing up in N Ireland, she craved sunnier climes so set off around the world, forever chasing the sun. On her travels she discovered she was much more passionate about the environment than she realised – although never quite got the whole tree-hugging thing – and has always had a penchant for the unconventional and creative side of life, so working at Environmental Graffiti suits her just fine.

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33 Comments For This Post

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  1. Gary W Says:

    The man in a top hat taking a stroll across the countryside must be Mr. Peanut.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Peanut

  2. hugo Says:

    Hey…you erased my comment about how the monkey is in Peru (Nazca Lines) and not in Mexico…sneaky.

  3. Alberto Says:

    what !!!! —>A monkey is on the loose somewhere in Mexico. The design resembles ancient Mesoamerican art, giving a clue to its age, though we’re not entirely sure.<—-

    this is a false , beacuse , this lines , (the monkey ) is in Peru – Lineas de Nazca

  4. manuel Says:

    A monkey is on the loose somewhere in Mexico. The design resembles ancient Mesoamerican art, giving a clue to its age, though we’re not entirely sure.

    LOL

    NAZCAAAAA!!!!!

  5. Yas Says:

    La figura del mono es parte de una serie de dibujos llamados “Las líneas de Nazca” echo por pre-incas en PERU.

  6. David Says:

    The monkey is from the Nazca Lines in Peru.

    Not a great valid source of mine but gives a roundabout picture.

  7. Marko Says:

    The image in the 6th picture, the triangle with the concentric lines is found in Nevada, US and represents an aerial view of a target for bomber planes practice. There are some 4-5 others simillar to it, in a radius of some 100 km.

  8. x.tammie.x Says:

    okay…that was slightly wierd and fake , well , some of it actually was.

  9. Charles Says:

    The one of the palm is an entire almost suburb, not just a hotel.

  10. Tips Photo Says:

    This is cool and not something I would usually use Google Earth for.

  11. David Rivers Says:

    Would have been nice if you actually linked to the relevant shots on Google Maps.

  12. Alfie Says:

    Angie os sooooooo Sexxy :D

  13. Gabriel Says:

    I see an elephants head in number 8, in the dark black mass, saw it, before the face.

  14. Gabriel Says:

    I saw the elephants head in, number 8 West Coast of Ireland pic.

  15. simone lamok Says:

    ying yang in chinese landscape

    http://lamok.punt.nl/index.php?r=1&id=411441

  16. nita Says:

    ha ha craze

  17. Moon Says:

    The Palm is EPIC! It’s three miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide. I can only imagine what relocating all that sand has done to the environment.

  18. JackAwful Says:

    #7 & #8 – I just can’t see ‘em.

  19. Felipe Says:

    Fools, the NAZCA monkey form its the oldest and antique.
    Perhaps its the well worked ovr the others,Nazca culture did the best job over the ground for be seen in the air.
    As a peruvian im not clapping, juts consider the less resources they had and culture age, miles and miles of years. Pionners!!!!!

    some students think thta was Alien intelligence cooperation as signalpad for any ship.
    If you investigate and check the lines. you can see have strange animal forms and strange human forms, like aliens and its pets.

  20. ixboat Says:

    Number 6, the triangle with concentric circles in it, is a bombing range target in the Nevada desert. If you zoom into the scene down to about 1000 feet altitude or less, you can clearly see the bomb craters.

    triangle 3990 feet per face
    circle 1 radius 1000 feet
    circle 2 radius 800 feet
    circle 3 radius 600 feet
    circle 4 radius 400 feet
    circle 5 radius 200 feet

  21. Max Says:

    I actually heard that the water break in the dubai palms has actually created new organism because it is all rocks

  22. Kiel Says:

    The first picture of the Man in hat with cane looks just like the Blythefield Reservoir in Staffordshire, England. I have driven over that bridge many a time!

  23. Mr. Squidward Says:

    after all these years we have FINALLY found Waldo!

  24. Tim Says:

    The checker-board “forest” is more than likely a private tree plantation.

  25. manoj yadav india Says:

    coool yaar

  26. Josh Says:

    I’m not sure what that triangle is but it’s curious that it is exact north.Interestingly enough there is another tringle at 33 44 39 80 N 112 37 57 14 W just NW of Surprise Arizona and is the same size measured with my googleearth ruler.

  27. Gary Says:

    Picture 6

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonopah_Test_Range

  28. Pippitypup Says:

    The smiley face at Versailles is clearly seen in the 17th C maps of the place. Unfortunately the old menagerie is no longer there; it had a rather “masculine” look.

  29. Aws Says:

    cool

  30. Alan Says:

    Very cool; would have been even more cool if the pictures linked to the location on google maps (satellite), or at least listed the global coordinates so we could look at them ourselves.

  31. Tim W Says:

    You missed a very old and famous one from England — The Cerne Abbas Giant,,,, One for the ladies I think,,,,,

  32. Carolita Says:

    Several of these images are corn mazes — Arizona Oprah, the Exploding Pumpkin, and the Choo Choo Train, for sure. Corn mazes are a form of agri-tourism wherein a farmer generates revenue by planting a special kind of corn on from one to ten acres of farmland. Mazes are usually planted off-season, so they will be lush and green in the late fall and stand through winter, but are barely recognizable in the summer. They are carefully diagrammed and planted on a grid to make the picture/maze (rather than being cut to shape after they are grown) and the image is usually changed each year. You can find out more — and see lots of aerial photos — at http://www.cornmazesamerica.com/

    BTW, they are very successful businesses, too. I know a farmer who makes in excess of $75,000 per year just from tourists visiting his maze, which is only open during the month of October.

  33. c Says:

    in pic 3 there are 2 heads, and in the forehead of the main head with the ipod headphones is a devil like face too.

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