Yesterday we looked to Google Earth’s new layer that shows satellite and aerial imagery updates. However, it is important to note that Google has continued to add new imagery to Google Earth since that layer was added and they have not yet updated the layer nor updated their map.
So, we thought we would have a look at some of the more interesting imagery we have found so far.
On the 12th of May, 2015, an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, USA killing 8 people and injuring over 200. The train was going in excess of the speed limit for the track, but it appears that it is not yet known why that was the case. For more, see the Wikipedia page.
The image is a bit cloudy, but it was captured the day following the accident, and you can see the rail cars. Check older imagery to see the layout of the tracks in the area.
On May 18th, 2015 a landslide tore through a valley near Salgar, Colombia. The older imagery for the area is black & white and not very good quality, but if you compare various spots along the river, you can see that the river has carved out a much larger channel than was there before, taking houses and trees along with it.
The above locations were found using DigitalGlobe’s FirstLook map. Another image from the FirstLook map that is in Google Earth is Waisak Day, an event in Indonesia in which twenty thousand Buddhists were expected to celebrate at Borobudur Temple. The image was captured on the day, but we were unable to identify anything of particular interest.
We also spotted some imagery of Lynchburg, Virginia captured on May 4th and 6th, 2015. The second is a black & white image, strongly suggesting that there was something of interest around those dates. Can any of our readers identify what it was?
Thank you to GEB reader Sladys for identifying the reason for the black & white image of Paris that we mentioned in our new layer suggestion post last week. It shows the Quarterfinals in the French Open at Roland Garros albeit half covered in cloud.
To view all the locations mentioned in this post in Google Earth download this KML file
About Timothy Whitehead
Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Lynchburg VA isn’t 2015. It’s May 6. 2014, 5 days after the derailment of Lynchburg April 31. 2014. You see the waggons at the remaining tracks and barriers in James River to prevent oil spill running down the river.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/economy/article24767032.html
In Brownsville Yard TX you ca see USS Saratoga (CV-60) and USS Constellation (CV-64) being scrapped in Timeslider 2/25/2015
Not new but anyway after the Royal wedding earlier this year: June 6. 2010 at Stockholm Castle, Sweden, you can see the crowd watching the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel (Westling).
That was by the way not June 6. It was June 19. so the dates aren’t allways correct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Victoria,_Crown_Princess_of_Sweden,_and_Daniel_Westling
Clean up efforts at Refugio Oil Spill oil spill near Santa Barbara are visible, not in the default imagery, but if you turn on historical imagery and go to the latest images
Thank you. I was expecting that based on the FirstLook map but was looking in the wrong place.
You probably already noticed, but a little bit up the coast and inland, you can see where the pipe broke and the mobilization of equipment being used to fix it.
Thank you. I had not noticed but have now found it. See the following KML for a few placemarks:
https://www.gearthblog.com/kmfiles/RefugioOilSpill.kmz