Contrary to popular belief, the answer is Ecuador, as the Earth isn’t a perfect sphere. As the Earth is constantly spinning, centrifugal force causes it to bulge out at the equator much like a water balloon would if you placed it on a table and pressed on the top.

Let’s look at Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador. The summit of Chimborazo is 6,267 m (20,561 ft) above sea level, which is quite large but not quite the highest mountain in the Andes. If you take into account the Earth’s equatorial bulge, a straight line from the summit down to the estimated centre of our planet would be 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi).

Now look at Mount Everest, widely known as the tallest mountain in the world. The summit of Everest is 8,848 m (29,029 ft) above sea level, but a straight line from the summit to the centre of the Earth would only be 6,382.3 km (3,965.8 mi).

So even though the summit of Chimborazo is about 2,400 m closer to sea level than Everest, it’s still 2,100 m further away from the centre of the Earth! By this logic, three more mountains (Huascaran, Cotopaxi and Kilimanjaro) around the world are actually “higher” than Everest as well.

Sadly our newly defined rules aren’t taken into account when deciding on the world’s highest mountain, so although Chimborazo is ranked the highest in distance from the centre of the Earth, Mount Everest still wins since we always measure to sea level.

If you’re a climber and neither one these appeals, you could always try Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan. It’s considered the highest unclimbed mountain in the world¹.

Locations: Bhutan, Ecuador, Nepal / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Volcanoes

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Asinelli and Garisenda Towers in Bologna, Italy - The Asinelli (the taller tower) has a height of 92 m and overhang of 2.2 m, while the Garisenda (the smaller tower) has a height of 48 m and overhang of 3.2 m. The Asinelli tower was used as a prison back in 14th century and since then has been used in scientific experiments related to Earth’s gravitation, and served as a sight post in World War II.

Pagoda at Chongsheng Temple in Yunnan, China - The Three Pagodas were all built between 850-950 AD in the form a symmetric triangle north of the ancient city of Dali. The tallest pagoda reaches a height of 69.1 m, but over 1,000 years of earthquakes below a weak foundation has caused the left pagoda to tilt. Today, the local government has taken great measures to strengthen the base and preserve these structures for years to come.

The Crooked House in West Midlands, England - Originally built as a farmhouse in 1765, subsidence from local mining in the 1800s left one side of this building sitting four feet below the other side! Today the building serves as a restaurant/pub that offers some very intriguing optical illusions like glasses sliding across tables and marbles rolling uphill.

The Leaning Tower of Suurhusen, Germany was, after some debate declared the most tilted tower in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, with its steeple inclined at a head-tilting angle of 5.19 degrees. The church was built with foundations made from oak tree trunks, and when water was drained from the ground in the 19th century the trees rotted resulting in the Earth sinking underneath the tower.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy - What list would be complete without the most famous leaning tower of them all, the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Thanks to Google’s ultra-high resolution of the area, you can look into the center of the tower from above and even see tourists gathering at the base of the tower. Unfortunately, the Street View car never really gets close enough to see the tower itself, but we have a great view of the perimeter wall that surrounds the Piazza dei Miracoli.

For a list of leaning towers around the world, check out this Wikipedia article.

Locations: China, England, Germany, Italy / Categories: Buildings, Structures

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The day before his death, Buddy Holly and associated acts Dion & The Belmonts, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, had played the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. After issues with their tour bus, and due to appear in Moorhead, Minnesota the next night, the group decided to charter a small plane from the nearby Mason Airport.

There was only space on the small plane for 3 passengers, so there was much debate as to who would fly. Dion DiMucci of Dion & The Belmonts had turned down a seat on the plane, and Ritchie Valens won his seat in a coin toss. One of Holly’s bandmates had given up his seat for J. P. Richardson, jokingly saying “I hope your plane crashes”.

And tragically, shortly after take off, the small plane crashed into a nearby field, killing all 3 musicians and the pilot. A memorial at the crash site depicts Holly’s trademark glasses.

Holly was buried in his hometown of Lubbock on 7th February 1959, where there is now a 8/12 ft bronze statue.

The crash is referenced in Don McLean’s 1971 hit American Pie as “the day the music died“.

Locations: Iowa, Texas / Categories: Aircraft, Other Vehicles

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if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks.

So in celebration, we’re posting Woodstock, Illinois, the location where most of the scenes from the excellent Bill Murray comedy of the same name were filmed (although it was actually set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania). And yes, in our thumbnail of the town square you can actually see “Gobbler’s Knob”…

For fans of the movie, the official Woodstock website has a PDF map which identifies all the locations used.

Previously on Google Sightseeing: Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day.

Locations: Illinois, Pennsylvania / Categories: Movie Locations

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For 10 months out of the year, Alert is either in complete sunlight or darkness all day long. The remaining two months offer a tease of the regular sun up, sun down process the rest of the world is used to.

According to the 2006 Canadian census, Alert is home to only five permanent residents, but the presence of a military intelligence facility adds 74 more temporary residents.

The facility is known as Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert), and houses a weather station, a Global Atmosphere Watch laboratory, and its own airport.² The 74 crew members are often referred to as “The Frozen Chosen”.

So what is there to do in Alert? Downtown Alert has everything you need; general stores, all-you-can-eat buffets, $2.50 drinks, and a workout facility which gives out free t-shirts to those who complete 500km of exercise.

“Top of the World Radio” CHAR-FM used to broadcast trivia games and music to the residents, but when CHAR moved to cable broadcasting in 2006, Alert’s over-the-air service ended.

Most of Alert’s supplies are shipped in via C-130 aircraft just once a week, but you can see some infrastructure in the area thanks to Google’s high resolution images. Some of the notable sights include the 8 fuel tanks used for providing heat, and water pumps that supply potable water to the base.

One of the most photographed objects in Alert is likely its sign. Originally built in 1967, the “Alert Sign” has been highly customised over the years by station personnel, each wishing to add their own personal touch to the post.³

For more information on Alert, check out this great article by Jerry Proc or of course, Wikipedia.

Thanks to Tom for the suggestion!

Locations: Nunavut / Categories: Buildings, Structures

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Google collaborated with the National Trust to allow the Street View trikes to gain entry to 20 of the National Trust’s protected locations.¹

Dorset’s Corfe Castle overlooks the village of the same name, and provides picturesque views of the English countryside from the ruined battlements. Partially destroyed during the English Civil War, pieces of the castle were “borrowed” for construction in the village, where some of the original stones and door frames remain.

There are fantastic views off the north-eastern coast of Northern Ireland at Downhill Demesne and Mussenden Temple. Designed as a library, the temple was built in 1785 near the edge of the cliffs, and by 1997 was in serious danger of being lost to coastal erosion.

Plas Newydd is a Welsh country house which dates from the 14th century, where you can man the cannons across the Menai Strait. Don’t try to ask for directions though, as it’s in the Welsh village with the famously-long-winded name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch².

Here in Scotland we have our own National Trust, who were unfortunately not involved with the project. However Google did also add images from the beautiful coastline of Loch Ness.

Although we’ve not had any reports of a Nessie sighting (yet), another mystery has been spotted: Some say he’s the Loch Ness monster, all we know is… it’s The Stig!

Yes, for reasons as yet unknown, Top Gear’s faceless racing driver has been captured just hanging around at the side of the road. What on earth for we wonder? Wasn’t his last appearance on Street View enough?³

You can see all 20 of the National Trust sights on Street View at this special Google Maps page.

Locations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Street Views

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Following the quake, Google quickly released a KML file that included imagery taken by the GeoEye satellite within hours of the occurrence of the disaster.

Today brings the news that Haiti has within the last few hours been hit by a second, 6.1 magnitude earthquake. The extent of the damage caused by this strong aftershock is not yet clear.

This sad news coincides with Google’s addition of even more up to date imagery to Google Maps and Earth. The new imagery was gathered on January 17th (Sunday), and must be aerial imagery, as the resolution is extremely high – somewhere around 15cm per pixel.

Here we can see a makeshift camp set up for survivors – and the SOS message they have scrawled on the ground nearby.

We saw the destruction of the presidential palace in our post last week, but this new imagery really hits home just how cataclysmic the quake was.

We can see a US plane at the airport which appears to be unloading supplies, but as is being reported widely, this aid isn’t reaching the people fast enough. Aid group Partners in Health estimate that 20,000 people are dying each day who could have been saved with access to proper medical attention.

There are so many factors compounding Haiti’s problems it’s almost overwhelming. For example, Haiti’s national prison was heavily damaged in the quake – allowing a reported 4,000 prisoners to escape. They’re currently in the process of reclaiming old territory, starting gang wars, and attacking the police and UN forces.

A spokesperson for the UN called this “the worst disaster the UN has ever confronted”, and reading through the continually updated Wikipedia page on the disaster gives some idea of what they’re up against.

If you wish to donate to the efforts to provide aid to the people of Haiti, you may visit Google’s Disaster Relief page.¹

Locations: Haiti / Categories: Buildings, Islands, Structures

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According to myth, these are the fabled mines of King Solomon, and a section of the area is still known as Cerro Salomón today. For a time the mines were abandoned, but the Spanish government began operating them again in 1724.

In 1873, after many years of under production, the government sold the mines to a British consortium and the Rio Tinto Company was founded – within a few years the mine was running at full capacity.

The westernmost mine is Corta Atalaya, which is over 1200 metres long, 900 m wide and 350 m deep, making it the largest open-pit mine in Europe.

Due to the effects of acid mine drainage the waters of the Río Tinto are highly acidic, with a pH of between 1.7 and 2.5 (roughly between gastric acid and lemon juice).

Despite the acidity, the Río Tinto is still home to extremophile bacteria, which has led to Astrobiologists taking an interest in the river, believing that conditions may be analogous to extraterrestrial locations thought to have the potential for life, such as subterranean Mars.

For further info visit the official Río Tinto website (Google translation), or see some of the many, many photos on flickr.

Locations: Spain / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Street Views, Structures

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Estimates put the death toll in the tens of thousands, and the homeless or injured in the millions. As Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, a huge international aid effort is underway. See below for how to help.

Google and GeoEye have released updated imagery of the city which reveals in graphic detail the extent of the destruction.

Please note: the new image overlay can take a while to load; be patient.

Among the major buildings suffering serious damage were the Presidential Palace:

The United Nations country headquarters, and the Hotel Montana, where many people had been based while working in peacekeeping roles:

and the National Assembly Building, where the leader of the Senate was killed.

But everywhere you look entire buildings, or groups of buildings, have collapsed entirely.

While relief is starting to flood in to the country, survivors are living in crowds on the streets, or finding ways to band together in safe places (if there are more aftershocks), such as in a sports stadium:

Google has a page of information on how to help. You can also donate directly to your local Red Cross, Oxfam or many other aid groups around the world.

Locations: Haiti / Categories: Buildings

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All of which might go some way to explain why he was photographed by the Google Car whilst sitting outside in a bathtub, with a large painted sign behind him which reads “Blob in the Bath”.

Naturally enough it was a member of the Flaming Lips forums that discovered this little tableau, and they directed us to some photos of the event on Myspace which prove it really is Mr. Coyne in the bath.

Unfortunately we haven’t got a Myspace account¹ to see if Wayne offers any sort of explanation as to what led him to believe this was a sensible sort of thing to do.

Here’s the Flaming Lips on Wikipedia, and more about Wayne himself.

Thanks to Allistair and the members of the Flaming Lips forums.

Locations: Oklahoma / Categories: Street Views, Weirdness

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