Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain as much as 10 billion tonnes of salt, and about 25,000 tonnes is collected here each year, using the traditional method of sweeping the salt up into neat piles to dry before being carted away.

However, salt is not Salar de Uyuni’s only valuable mineral: it also contains an estimated 5.4 million tonnes of Lithium, which is estimated to be between 50% and 70% of the world’s entire lithium supply! As a vital part of many electric batteries demand for lithium is on the increase, but Bolivia has been reluctant to let foreign mining companies onto the flat, instead opting to build their own modest plant which should be operational by 2012.

In the meantime, Salar de Uyuni still helps the economy through tourism. Hotel de Sal Playa Bianca, or “The White Beach Hotel” was built right in the middle of the salt flat and constructed from the very same salt. Unfortunately, due to the difficulties in sanitation, it was closed down in 2002.

Thankfully tourists can still experience living in a house of salt at either Hotel Luna Salada or the newer Palacio del Sal, both of which are built just on the edge of the salt flat. In an effort to protect their building from degradation, the Palacio del Sal enforces a strict “no licking the walls” policy.

Tourists to the area may also take a visit to Incahuasi island, also known as Island of the Fish. Located within the salt flat it is technically not an island, and is home to no fish. If that doesn’t tempt you, you could always visit the nearby town of Uyuni, which has a massive train boneyard.

Locations: Bolivia / Categories: Islands, Natural Landmarks

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The distinctly non-triangular Bir Tawil Triangle is an area on the border between Egypt and Sudan, unclaimed by either nation, and identified by the dotted border lines in Google Maps.

Given that this is pretty much just 2,000 km² of sand and rocks, it’s perhaps not surprising that neither country is particularly attracted to it, but what causes it to be so undesirable? The secret lies in the continuation of the dotted border lines to the east and north-east, which encompass a much larger area (almost 6,500 km²) known as the Hala’ib Triangle², though it is only vaguely more triangular in shape than Bir Tawil.

Note that the border to the west of the Bir Tawil Triangle is shown as a solid line. This is 22° latitude, the political border between Egypt and Sudan as defined in 1899. Egypt claims that this border should run all the way to the Red Sea, giving it control of the Hala’ib Triangle, while Sudan would get the smaller Bir Tawil Triangle.

Sudan, on the other hand, prefers the more complicated administrative border established in 1902 which would reverse the ownership of these two parcels of land. This boundary was originally established because tribes in the Bir Tawil area were of Egyptian origin, while those in the Hala’ib area were of Sudanese descent, including those in the town of Hala’ib, the only settlement of any size in the area.

Essentially, neither country claims the smaller Bir Tawil Triangle as it would mean losing control of the larger Hala’ib Triangle, the access it has to the Red Sea, and potential oil fields. In a no-doubt complicated and tense situation, Egypt has administered the larger area since 1990, but Sudan kept armed forces there until 2000, and continues to claim the area even after their withdrawal.

This has resulted in a border post on the 22° latitude border where it is crossed by a major road, but none where that road crosses the other border further north.

The Bir Tawil Triangle has no roads, but the high-res images show that at least some vehicles pass through, with tire tracks clearly visible in the sand – these appear to be areas where water gathers, with trees growing sporadically, so may be the ‘Water Well’ from which the area is named.

More information at Strange Maps.

Locations: Egypt, Sudan / Categories: Deserts, Weirdness

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The area around Larderello¹ in Tuscany’s Cecina valley has an abundance of hot wells (lagoni) and natural steam fountains (sofioni), where the escaping steam leaves the ground under very high pressure at temperatures of over 200°C; making it ideal for power generation.

The gases released here also smell strongly of sulphur, which is why this is known as Valle del Diavolo – “The Devil’s Valley”.

A working geothermal generator (using a steam-powered piston engine) was demonstrated² here as early as 1904, and Larderello actually became the location of the world’s first geothermal power plant all the way back in 1913! Today, over one third of the electricity consumed in Tuscany is produced by local geothermal plants.

The whole countryside around the town is criss-crossed by large insulated pipelines transporting superheated steam from the wells to the power station.

In 2005, nearly 10% of the world’s geothermal electricity was produced in Larderello, but as more, high-tech geothermal power stations have been built around the world, this proportion has shrunk dramatically.

You can take a guided tour if you’re in the area, of which one of the highlights is a steam outlet that the tour guide opens with a remote control to create a deafeningly loud, and very impressive-looking column of steam:

You can read more about Geothermal power at Wikipedia.

Locations: Italy / Categories: Buildings, Structures, Volcanoes

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A small community in the heart of the United States, Greensburg has had its share of severe conditions over the years. Now, thanks to the differing image capture dates, we’re able to see a dramatic before and after comparison of the most extreme weather to hit the town in its history.

The aerial view of the city shows a community very similar to many other towns scattered across the Kansas countryside. Switching to street view however is an entirely different story. On May 4, 2007, over 95 percent of the city was destroyed when a 2.7 km (1.7 mile) wide EF5 tornado¹ ripped through town. The National Weather Service recorded 330km/h (220mph) winds during the storm, which sadly killed 11 people.²

Driving around town in the virtual street car, it’s hard to find a single thing built before the tornado that remains standing today. Most of the structures visible in street view, including the water tower, were subsequently rebuilt.

Greensburg is home to the world’s largest hand dug well, which is 33 m (109 ft) deep and nearly 10 metres (32 ft) across.³ Known as the “Big Well”, its associated museum was completely destroyed by the winds, but a 450 kg meteorite stored in the museum survived, and was found a few days later in amongst the rubble⁴.

Greensburg today is rebuilding as a “green” town. Reconstruction is being accomplished with ecologically-sound building supplies. A new factory is being built near town to manufacture ultra-green modular homes, and the city will be breaking ground on a facility for four 2.5-MW wind turbines to handle all their power needs. Maybe the city’s name is a coincidence, but Greensburg may soon be the greenest town in America.

Information about the Greensburg tornado can be found on Wikipedia, and you can read about Greensburg’s rebuilding effort on their website.

Locations: Kansas / Categories: Buildings, Street Views

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With construction ongoing since 1996, the complex consists of five main areas, of which one (L’Oceanogràfic aquarium) was designed by a different architect.

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia contains 4 performance halls for music, theatre and opera in a building that many would consider designed for inter-galactic travel.

Resembling an immense eye to represent visual arts, L’Hemisfèric houses an IMAX theatre, planetarium and Laserium.

Rising behind is the skeletal form of El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe, a hands-on science museum.

Bordering the decorative pools is L’Umbracle, a landscaped park and sculpture gallery under a network of white arches.

Calatrava’s contributions also include a bridge and central plaza, both of which are currently under construction. However, apartment buildings that were supposed to have been developed in the area have been put on hold for financial reasons.

The forms seen above are reflected in two important buildings on the Atlantic island of Tenerife. The Auditorio de Tenerife on the waterfront of Santa Cruz features a 1600-seat main hall with a pipe organ and a smaller chamber hall, all contained within one of the most amazingly-shaped buildings ever seen.

Also in Santa Cruz, the Tenerife International Centre for Trade Fairs and Congresses features 40,000 square metres of exhibition and meeting space. Thanks to this week’s Street View update, we can also now see it from ground-level.

Another waterfront building can be found by Lake Michigan in the form of the Milwaukee Art Museum which was the first of Calatrava’s projects to be completed in the US. The museum’s main feature is a movable sunshade which can retract in poor weather and at night; it also has a signature cable-stayed bridge.

As with his bridges, not all of Calatrava’s buildings have been popular. The visually stunning Gare do Oriente train station in Lisbon has been criticised for cutting off the city centre from the river, and for not protecting waiting passengers from the elements.

Thanks to the many people who suggested the CAC … paco, Eduardo R. de Lima, Stolz, Arrianus, Carlos Urena, javier, Simone, antonio waller, Sebas Font, Trompie, Michael Zacherl, Pablo, andysamp, Ximet, Andros and Martin.

Locations: Portugal, Spain, Wisconsin / Categories: Buildings, Street Views

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Mexico

In Mexico the cities of Monterrey, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cancun have all received coverage. So far we’ve spotted the world famous Teotihuacan pyramid, complete with people on top (previously covered in 2005):

The world’s largest bullring, which we viewed from above earlier this year.

And one of Mexico’s greatest exports, character piñatas.

Hawaii

Until now Hawaii was the only US state to not have Streetview coverage – but Google has now remedied that by bringing us imagery of main island of Hawaii. Here, covered in a blue tarpaulin, we can see the nose cone of the plane that was used in the opening episode of Lost – which was filmed around here somewhere…

Netherlands

The Netherlands already had excellent coverage, which allowed us to see all sorts of exciting nudity, prostitution, and other Not Safe For Work antics. The latest update goes on to cover Utrecht, Den Haag¹, Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Tilburg, Leeuwarden, Apeldoorn, Deventer and Amersfoort!

All of this means we can now see the brilliant Kubuswoning from ground-level (previously covered in 2006):

The windmills at the popular tourist destination, Kinderdijk, were captured by the Google Trike (turn round for loads more):

Spain

Finally Spain, which already had good coverage, has received an almost total blanket of blue streets. The updates extend right out to the Canary Islands, now covering Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

Here’s the Guggenheim Bilbao, complete with another massive spider (they pop up everywhere on Streetview it seems), which we covered back in 2005:

For continuing Spanish-language coverage of all the new Streetview imagery, you should follow Google Sightseeing Español on Twitter.

Have you found something interesting? Leave a comment below!

Locations: Hawaii, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain / Categories: Site News, Street Views

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In the weeks leading up to November 1989, both Hungary and Czechoslovakia had relaxed their border controls, and thousands of East Germans fled to the West through those countries. With the division between West Germany and the DDR¹ fatally weakened, the decision was taken to open the border that had been effectively sealed for 28 years.

This was supposed to take place on November 17, but at a press conference on November 9 a government spokesman mistakenly announced that people were free to cross “immediately”. Berliners from both sides flocked to the wall, outnumbering the bewildered border police who at this stage didn’t know what was going on, and of course the rest is history.

The Brandenburg Gate was a symbolic focus for the fall of the Wall. During the Cold War, the gate was isolated in the “death strip” between two walls – the main outer barrier, facing the west, and a smaller inner one. Today, the Brandenburg Gate sits at the heart of the reunited city² and the exact position of the wall is marked by a line of cobblestones set into the road.

Cobbles aside, there’s virtually nothing of the wall left to see here, so the rest of this post will search out a few of the places where it – or its legacy – can still be seen. We begin in the north of the city, in the district of Pankow. Here, the “death strip” clearly stands out as a sea of trees that have grown up since the border guards left. A few small sections of wall also still exist here, and, a little way to the south, a few very overgrown Blumenschalensperre – barricades disguised as concrete urns filled with flowers.

Also still visible in many places is the track that was used to patrol the border. One of the best preserved sections is beside Schulzestrasse, where the tall lamp posts that originally illuminated the “death strip” can clearly be seen.

At Bernauer Strasse, the border was formed by the walls of the buildings on the southern side of the street – the apartments were in East Germany; the street itself was in the West. Consequently, it was the scene of many escape attempts. To prevent this, the authorities first bricked up the windows and finally evacuated the residents and demolished the buildings along the border. Today, its southern side still largely empty, Bernauer Strasse is home to various memorials to the wall. The Chapel of Reconcilation was opened in 2000 on the site of a former church, which was isolated in no man’s land for years before being demolished in 1985. Just across the street is the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre.

Nearby, the border twists and turns so that near the Nordbahnhof station, West Berlin is actually east of East Berlin! Again, a few stretches of wall are still visible – these were part of the “hinterland wall”, the smaller barrier behind the main wall.

The longest stretch of wall still standing is known as the East Side Gallery, and we’ve featured it before. The imagery has improved somewhat since then, although of course it’s still much better appreciated from ground level!

There’s another well preserved length of wall on Niederkirchnerstrasse, not far from the infamous Checkpoint Charlie (although the checkpoint you can see today is only a reconstruction).

Our last stop in Berlin is something of an oddity. Steinstücken, a community of about 200 people in the southwest of the city, was once an exclave of the West, entirely surrounded by the DDR. Once the wall was built, its inhabitants were entirely cut off, and could only visit the rest of West Berlin by passing through two East German checkpoints on each visit. This situation lasted for 10 years before a thin sliver of land was exchanged, attaching the exclave to the rest of West Berlin. Although the wall is long gone, the border between Berlin and Brandenburg still follows the same convoluted path today, including the strip barely 20 metres wide.

Although Berlin was the most famous divided German community, it wasn’t the only one. The border between East and West Germany also cut through other, smaller towns. Among them was the village of Mödlareuth, which is divided between Bavaria, in the West, and Thuringia, in the East. The wall was built here in 1966, five years after that in Berlin, and a small part of it has been preserved as an open-air museum, complete with a helicopter and some tanks.

As you can probably gather, there are a huge amount of wall-related things to see in Berlin, and we could fill dozens of posts with them. Fortunately, a superb German site does a far better job than we would, with a vast store of photos, maps and other information, accessed through a Google Maps interface. It’s only available in German, but there’s plenty to look at even if you can’t read the text. Also check out the fascinating “Wall Traces” section at Berlin’s official website.

Thanks to fellow GSS authors Jenni and Cédric for respectively suggesting and contributing to this post.

Locations: Germany / Categories: Abandoned, Monuments, Structures

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The form and position of the sandbank’s tip can vary considerably over short periods of time, when waves³ and currents remove or deposit sand.

On the long term however, Grenen is growing by almost a kilometre (roughly half a mile) per century, slowly extending towards the north east. A closer look at the aerial picture shows distinct stripes in the landscape: successive layers of silt and sand that have accumulated over time.

Of great importance is the 46m (150ft) high lighthouse close to the tip.

Despite the increasing use of advanced navigational systems, the lighthouse is still crucial to the safe passage of more than 100,000 ships that pass Grenen every year.

Due to its prominent position in between seas, the location has also been of great military interest for many years. What remains today are several very sturdy concrete fortifications and artillery positions built by the Germans during World War II.

These structures are part of the huge Atlantic Wall project, a chain of coastal defences built by the German Third Reich that runs from southern France to the northern end of Norway. The Wall was never completely finished, and save its French parts never saw much use.

A little further to the south lies the “Tilsandede Kirke“, or “silted up church“. Built around the 12th century, it was the region’s most important church.

However, beginning in the 16th century, it had to regularly be dug out of the sand that amassed around it, and was finally given up in 1795. Its main building was torn down to reuse the building materials, while the church’s tower remains as a historical site.

Grenen today is a popular leisure destination⁴ and a nature reserve, protecting the region’s distinct vegetation including several kinds of orchids. It is also a popular site for bird spotters looking for passing eagles, ospreys, cranes, storks and ernes, amongst many others.

Locations: Denmark / Categories: Abandoned, Natural Landmarks

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Although it is more than 40,000km long, there are surprisingly few towns along the line – much of its length consists of ocean, and on land it crosses large expanses of tropical rainforest.

We start our journey, appropriately enough, in the country named after its location: Ecuador. Perhaps the best known monument marking the equator is Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World), just outside the capital, Quito. These days, GPS-laden tourists are often alarmed to find that the true zero line appears to be 240 metres north of the line on the ground.

It’s all a question of which map datum¹ you use: The Global Positioning System, along with most online maps, uses the WGS84 datum. So, in the same way that the Greenwich meridian is 100 metres or so away from GPS 0° longitude, the GPS equator (shown in red below) is somewhat north of the Mitad del Mundo line (in blue).

Just to the northeast of the offical Mitad del Mundo monument is a small private museum called Inti-Ñan, which claims to be on the “real” equator. It is, but only on an older datum called SAD69 (shown in yellow). Your GPS won’t read zero until you walk into the main road outside.

Heading eastwards through Ecuador, we soon come to the highest point on the equator, and the only place on the line with permanent snow cover: Volcán Cayambe. The summit, just inside the northern hemisphere, is 5,790 metres above sea level; the highest point on the equator itself is some 1,100 metres lower.

On the other side of South America, in the city of Macapá in Brazil, we find a football² stadium supposedly built right on the equator, with one half of the pitch in each hemisphere. This is the Estádio Milton Corrêa, better known as the Zerão (”Big Zero”), and it’s only slightly marred by the fact that the WGS84 equator actually runs just past the southern end of the pitch. A little way to the east, along Avenida Equatorial, is a monument known as Marco Zero.

Next we cross the Atlantic to Africa. A popular tourist stop in Kenya is this layby on the outskirts of Nanyuki, where a sign (arrowed) marks the location of the equator. In this case it’s pretty accurate, being just 20 metres or so south of the WGS84 line. You can usually find enterprising locals here willing, for a few shillings, to “demonstrate” how water flows down the plughole in opposite directions either side of the line. However, it’s an urban myth and the demonstration is all down to sleight of hand.

Our last location is in Indonesia, in Pontianak on the island of Borneo. Built in 1990, the Equator Monument is a replica of the marker first erected in the 1920s by Dutch surveyors. It’s five times the size of the original, but again it’s disappointing to note that it is 120 metres too far north, according to GPS.

One final Google oddity – if you search for the location “0,0″, then as you’d expect you get a placemark at the intersection of the equator and the Greenwich meridian, off the coast of west Africa. What’s more unexpected is the address that is given: 23208 Glenbrook St, St Clair Shores, Michigan. Is this unassuming neighbourhood the real centre of the universe?

Locations: Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya / Categories: Monuments, Weirdness

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However, today’s announcement is a little different as they’ve promised to not only increase the frequency of updates¹, but also provide exhaustive detail, via a KML file, of exactly which areas have been added or updated. This is great news for Google Sightseeing, as we’re always looking for new sights to feature.

Updated locations are highlighted in red

The Google Earth team have also challenged you to find the best sights on the new imagery and share them on twitter using the #GearthIMG hashtag. We’ve already posted a couple, and will keep an eye on the findings.

Remember, you can also follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest Google Earth, Maps, and #streetview posts.

Categories: Site News