Where in the World? A Google Earth Puzzle

Looking at the world through via Google Earth offers striking images of the diversity of our planet and the impact that humans have had on it. Today's entry is a puzzle. We're challenging you to figure out where in the world each of the images below is taken. (You'll find answers and links at the bottom of the entry.) North is not always up in these pictures, and, apart from a bit of contrast, they are unaltered images provided by Google and its mapping partners. So I invite you to open up Google Earth (or Google Maps), have a look at the images below, and dive in. Good luck! [25 images]

This community lies near the intersection of seven rivers. (Answers are listed at the bottom of the page) (© Google, DigitalGlobe) 

 

2

Circular fields near a lake, watered with center-pivot irrigation. Image is 9km (5.5 mi) wide. (© Google, DigitalGlobe, USGS) #

3

A steep drop, these switchbacks plummet from 3,000m (10,000ft) to 2286m (7,500ft) within this 3.2km (2mi) wide image. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

4

Lake water pours through this international scene. (© Google, GeoEye) #

5

A growing community near a well-off city. (© Google, GeoEye) #

6

A living mass of treetops. This scene is 3.5km (2.1mi) wide. (© Google, GeoEye) #

7

A clustered neighborhood in a country that lists English as one of its official languages. (© Google, GeoEye) #

8

A scene covering some 3.8km (2.3mi), shows part of community of fewer than 200 people. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

9

Saltwater ponds cut their way through this southerly farmland. Image is 2.5km (1.5 mi) across. (© Google, Whereis Sensis) #

10

Ravaged by warfare nearly 20 years ago, this town remains abandoned to this day. (© Google, DigitalGlobe, Geocentre Consulting) #

11

An aquatic scene measuring some 1.5km (2mi) across. (© Google, TerraMetrics, Mapabc.com, Kingway Ltd., GeoEye) #

12

A sparse, yet noisy, neighborhood in a warm climate. (© Google, INEGI, GeoEye) #

13

Humans have been leaving their mark on the Earth for centuries. (© Google, GeoEye, Basarsoft) #

14

A lonely vessel. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

15

A contrast of wet and dry near the Atlantic Ocean. This image is 2km (1.2mi) wide. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

16

Population density. (© Google) #

17

Remote, high, and salty, lake and mountain meet. (© Google, Cnes Spot Image) #

18

Small fields near a town of about 8,300 people. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

19

A lake, a sea, a spit, a roadway. (© Google, Transnavicom, Ltd, GeoEye) #

20

Desert and agriculture meet south of Mary. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

21

You have to go east to go west. (© Google, GeoEye) #

22

Tending these fields must be seriously hard. Scene is 1km (.6mi) across. (© Google, DigitalGlobe) #

23

The oldest and northernmost town in the region, near a winding river. (© Google, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye) #

24

A crater basin below sea level. (© Google, GeoEye) #

25

Farming around the eroded edges of a northern river. (© Google, Cnes DigitalGlobe, Spot Image) #

1: Nga Bay, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam - More.
2: Farmland near Moses Lake, Washington - More.
3: Lowari Pass in Pakistan - More.
4: The St. Clair River empties Lake Huron on the U.S.-Canada border - More.
5: A Saudi neighborhood, about 16km southwest of Riyadh - More.
6: Central Congolian lowland forest, just a small piece - More.
7: A pakistani neighborhood, northwest of Karachi - More.
8: Inishmaan, one of the Aran Islands - More.
9: Lake Malata-Lake Greenly Complex in South Australia - More.
10: Agdam, Azerbaijan (aka Akna) - More.
11: Fish farms near Xiamen, China - More.
12: A neighborhood next to Los Cabos International Airport in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico - More.
13: Sagalassos, an archaeological site in southwestern Turkey - More.
14: Grounded shipwreck on the Western Sahara coastline.
15: Dunes of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Brazil - More.
16: Neighborhood of King's Point, west of Delray Beach, Florida.
17: Lake Ayakum, Tibet - More.
18: Fields outside of Magherafelt, Northern Ireland - More.
10: A roadway crossing Syvash Lake, part of Sea of Azov, Ukraine - More.
20: The village of Kommunizm, south of Mary, Turkmenistan - More.
21: Southern end of Lake Gatun, Panama Canal - More.
22: Terraced hillsides in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Southern China.
23: The King River and Wyndham, Western Australia - More.
24: Pedra de Lume crater on the island of Sal, in Cape Verde - More.
25: Red Deer River, in the badlands of central Alberta, Canada - More. #