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Photos: The best of Google Earth

Around the world, via burning oil fields, topless sunbathers and Area 51...
By Will Sturgeon, Contributor
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1 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Around the world, via burning oil fields, topless sunbathers and Area 51...

Where else to start but above the GooglePlex in Mountain View, California.


copyright: Google



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40149443-2-swastika2.jpg
2 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

What did you say the architect's name was? A housing development in San Diego, just west of the city centre, across the bay on the North Island.

copyright: Google



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40149443-3-hollwood2.jpg
3 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The Hollywood sign, California, USA.

copyright: Google



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40149443-4-sanquentin2.jpg
4 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The distinctive orange boiler suits of prisoners, clustering in the recreation yard at San Quentin prison, California.

copyright: Google



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40149443-5-mancardoor.jpg
5 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

A man in Las Vegas about to open his car door.

copyright: Google



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40149443-6-dolphin2.jpg
6 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Not a shark in the pool of a Bond villain but rather a dolphin in Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas.

copyright: Google



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40149443-7-areas51-2.jpg
7 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Nellis Air Force base, Nevada - better known to UFO conspiracy theorists as Area 51. On this image you can clearly make out the multiple runways where planes such as the B2 Stealth Bomber were tested.

copyright: Google



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8 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Mysterious green circles in the desert just a few miles from Area 51.

copyright: Google



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9 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Monument Valley in Arizona, USA

copyright: Google



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40149443-10-mscampus2.jpg
10 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

'We know where you live,' says Google to archrival Microsoft. This is Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond.

copyright: Google



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11 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Leaning towers of Manhattan. The Empire State building appears to be leaning to the left, while a neighbouring building two blocks southwest appears to be leaning to the right.

copyright: Google



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12 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

London's Trafalgar Square, swamped with visitors for an event being staged between the fountains.

copyright: Google



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40149443-13-silverstone2.jpg
13 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire, UK.

copyright: Google



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40149443-14-blackpool2.jpg
14 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Blackpool, one of the most famous seaside resorts in the UK, and the Blackpool Tower, an equally famous landmark. Paris has nothing on it.

copyright: Google



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40149443-15-profanity2.jpg
15 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

A farmer mows a profane field between Barnsley and Doncaster in the North of England.

copyright: Google



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40149443-16-crops2.jpg
16 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

A more traditional crop pattern, just down the road from the profanity on the previous page - is this the work of aliens or another farmer playing a prank? We think it's probably the latter.

copyright: Google



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17 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Over Tower Bridge and adjacent to the Tower of London is Silicon Towers, home of the silicon.com team.

copyright: Google



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40149443-18-dome2.jpg
18 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Possibly London's most controversial landmark, the Dome which occupies a kink in the Thames as it flows through East London.

copyright: Google



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40149443-19-planeuk2.jpg
19 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

An airplane in the skies, southwest of Godalming, Surrey, UK.

copyright: Google



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20 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

A German U-boat on mud flats in Kent, southeast England.

copyright: Google



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40149443-21-versaille2.jpg
21 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The first 'smiley'? The gardens of Versailles, outside Paris, France.

copyright: Google



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40149443-22-toplessbather2.jpg
22 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

A topless woman sunbathing in Den Haag, Netherlands.

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40149443-23-pyramids2.jpg
23 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo. The tourist board may choose to shoot them looking into the desert but Google Earth reveals just how close the sprawling city is to these ancient wonders.

copyright: Google



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40149443-24-palm2.jpg
24 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Palm Island, Dubai

copyright: Google



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40149443-25-basra.jpg
25 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Oil fields burning, south of Basra in Iraq.

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40149443-26-everest2.jpg
26 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Mount Everest and the Himalayas seen from the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

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40149443-27-forbidden2.jpg
27 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The Forbidden City it may be but very few places escape Google Earth's gaze.

copyright: Google



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40149443-28-uluru2.jpg
28 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Uluru, formerly Ayer's Rock, in the Northern Territory, Australia.

copyright: Google



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40149443-29-wolfcreek2.jpg
29 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

Wolf Creek meteorite crater, Australia.

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40149443-30-barrierreef2.jpg
30 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The Great Barrier Reef as it would appear from the outer reaches of our atmosphere.

copyright: Google



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31 of 31 Will Sturgeon/ZDNET

The ancient monuments of Teotihuacan, Mexico.

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