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landslide

Amtrak train derailment and other new imagery

July 14, 2015

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

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: landslide, satellite imagery

Overlays of affected areas from Oso landslide

March 31, 2014

Last week we showed you some imagery from the landslide in Oso, Washington and this week we’re back with a few overlays from James Baker that help explain things a bit more.

oso landslide overlay

James has created two overlays; one that shows the outline of the extent of the previous landslide, and one that shows the source of the recent slide and run-out areas.

• KMZ of pre-slide area
• KMZ of post-slide area

In addition, he’s created a simple KMZ file that shows the Devils Mountain fault running directly through the affected area. You can download that KMZ here, and see a screenshot of it below.

devils mountain fault

Great work, James!

Filed Under: Environment, Science Tagged With: james baker, landslide, oso

The landslide near Oso, Washington

March 27, 2014

Last weekend, rainfall triggered a massive landslide near Oso, Washington that killed at least 24 people. There have been many news reports about the event, but I believe NASA is the first to provide satellite imagery of the area post-landslide.

oso landslide

The imagery isn’t particularly sharp, but it shows the massive scale of the landslide. In addition, the landslide has blocked the Stillaguamish River, creating a barrier lake and flooding additional homes. While the timing is always unknown for events like this, the possibility has existed for years:

According to Durham University geologist Dave Petley, the landslide was a reactivation of an earlier landslide that caused problems in 1988 and 2006. The Seattle Times has reported that retired US. Geological Survey geologist Daniel Miller warned the hillside had the “potential for a large catastrophic failure” in a report filed with U.S. Corp of Engineers in 1999.

You can read more about this image on the NASA Earth Observatory site or grab this KML file to view it directly in Google Earth.

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: landslide, nasa earth observatory, oso, washington

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