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A beaver dam that’s visible from space

May 11, 2010

It was long-believed that the Great Wall of China was the only man-made creation that could be seen from space, but that’s simply not true. Viewed from above, the wall looks similar to a road, and is no more significant from space than other roads around the world.
However, some beavers may have pulled it off. According to an article on Treehugger (and originally found by Jean Thie in the Google Earth Community), a massive beaver dam in Alberta, Canada can be seen from space. At 2,790 feet long (more than twice the size of the Hoover Dam), this beaver dam is quite impressive.

beaver-dam.jpg

While it’s possible it could be viewed from space, it’d probably be tough to pick out. A small brown blob from that altitude could really blend in pretty well. Still, it’s a very impressive bit of engineering by those beavers. You can read more about it on Treehugger, or fly there yourself using this KML file.

About Mickey Mellen

Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.

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Filed Under: Environment, Sightseeing

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PLEASE NOTE: Google Earth Blog is no longer writing regular posts. As a result, we are not accepting new comments or questions about Google Earth. If you have a question, use the official Google Earth and Maps Forums or the Google Earth Community Forums.

Comments

  1. Lana says

    May 11, 2010 at 8:54 am

    Pretty cool, but uh, Beavers are not men, hence it is not “man made” but “beaver made”.
    Go Alberta Beavers!

  2. Mark R. says

    May 11, 2010 at 9:22 am

    LOL! Beavers are not Men! However you could say this is the only object made by a animal that is visible from space.
    cracks me up, Beavers = men. ROFL!

  3. Noisette says

    May 11, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    GEB readers might be interested in reading about Jean Thie’s original find here on the Google Earth Community:
    http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=961698#Post961698
    Jean Thie is the Executive Director of Ecoinformatics International in Canada (http://www.geostrategis.com/). Jean’s posts and placemarks are full of fascinating information about this dam and about beavers in general.

  4. Learn quran says

    May 14, 2010 at 5:42 am

    Pretty cool, but uh, Beavers are not men, hence it is not “man made” but “beaver made”.

  5. H.C. says

    May 29, 2010 at 12:05 pm

    Read again friends, they’re not saying this dam is created by men… so Beavers do not = men… sigh.

  6. Noisette says

    May 29, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    Thank you for adding the link to Jean’s post on the Google Earth Community 🙂

  7. Mickey says

    May 29, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    Noisette — You’re welcome. I greatly apologize for missing that with the initial post.

  8. Joe Dirt says

    June 27, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    I am all about going green and how popular it has become these past few years. I liked this article on the beaver dam that was seen all the way from space! How awesome is that?! I have found green awards for those of you interested in leading a green economy!



PLEASE NOTE: Google Earth Blog is no longer writing regular posts. As a result, we are not accepting new comments or questions about Google Earth. If you have a question, use the official Google Earth and Maps Forums or the Google Earth Community Forums.

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