--- title: Incredible Locations People Found on Google Earth description: "First released in 2001, Google Earth puts the entire world just a few clicks away. A massive compilation of photos taken of the earth's surface, captured by satellites and aircraft, gives users incredible access to our planet in stunning detail. Now, let's be honest, the first time we used it most of us immediately zoomed in on our houses to see if they really had mapped everything, and many of us didn't do much more than that. However, there are some people who used Google Earth to its full potential, and they've found some pretty incredible things among the millions of photos. Today, we'll show you four of these, and where you can spot them yourselves.\n\n## The Kazakh Geoglyphs\n\nIn 2007, economist and amateur archaeologist Dimitriy Dey was scouring the landscape in his home country of Kazakhstan on Google Earth. He had been watching a TV show about pyramids around the earth, and figured there might be some undiscovered ones in Kazakhstan as well. He didn't find any pyramids, but he did stumble upon something peculiar near the town Urpek – massive shapes and figures, seemingly carved into the sand, so large that they were visible only from the sky. These were the Steppe Geoglyphs, and Dey was credited as the first person in modern history to spot them.\n\nOnce the announcement had made global news, it attracted the attention of news agencies, more Google Earth sleuths, and even NASA, who began investigating the earthwork for themselves. It is now believed that there are at least 260 individual geoglyphs in the region, often nicknamed the 'Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan', made by digging and piling of dirt to make mounds and trenches. The most impressive of the bunch have been given names, such as:\n\n- the Bestamskoe Ring\n- the Ashutasti Ring\n- the Ushtogaysky Square\n- The large cross Ashtasti\n- And the Turgay triradial swastika\n\nBut while more and more were being discovered, the question of who actually built them remained. Of course, we can discount the extraterrestrial hypotheses that immediately cropped up on some select television programs, but the alternative actually leaves us with more questions than answers. You see, some of the lines have been found with Neolithic artifacts dating to at least 8,000 BC, a time when the region was inhabited by Stone Age nomadic culture known as the Mahandzhar. This would mean that even before they began the practice of agriculture and building long-term settlements, they already had enough manpower and organization to carry out huge projects.\n\nAs put by Dr. Clarkson of the University of Winnipeg:\n\n> \"The idea that foragers could amass the numbers of people necessary to undertake large-scale projects — like creating the Kazakhstan geoglyphs — has caused archaeologists to deeply rethink the nature and timing of sophisticated large-scale human organization as one that predates settled and civilized societies\"\n\nUnfortunately, while the rest of the world took great interest in these discoveries, the government of Kazakhstan didn't feel the same way, and one of the figures, the Koga Cross, has already been destroyed during the construction of a roadway. There have been proposals to make the area a protected UNESCO site, but so far nothing has come of this.\n\nIf you want to see these geoglyphs for yourself, many of them have been added as locations, such as the Turgai Triradial, and the Ushtogayskay Square can be found by typing in these exact coordinates:\n\n**50.832933°N 65.326276°E**\n\n## The Kamil Meteorite\n\nThe earth is struck with meteorites all the time, in fact, up to 20 hit the surface of our planet every single day, and many more burn up in the atmosphere before they get to the ground. However, because we don't often know where these meteorites land, and because many of them land in the ocean, their impact craters are rarely found before they've been worn down by the elements. This is why there are only about 190 confirmed impact structures in the whole world, making our next find even more special.\n\nIn 2008, Vincenzo de Michele, a curator at the Milan Natural History Museum, was poring over Google Earth, but not in his home country of Italy, this time, he was looking over Egypt. While scouring the desert in southwestern Egypt, he suddenly spotted what appeared to be an absolutely pristine impact structure, soon to be called the Kamil Crater.\n\nThe crater only has a diameter of about 45 meters, or 147 feet, and is located right next to the border of Sudan, right smack in the middle of the East Uweinat Desert, on the eastern half of the Sahara. After announcing his finding, Vincenzo and a group of Italian and Egyptian researchers headed down there to find the crater for themselves, and what they found exceeded their expectations.\n\nBecause the Kamil Crater is in an area of the world that receives such little precipitation, it was nearly perfectly preserved, to a level generally only seen on the surface of the moon or Mars where the atmosphere and environment don't erode the evidence. This allowed scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the impact itself. It was so well preserved that they could still see the marks in the sandstone from when the fragments exploded outward, called ejecta rays, and heavy chunks of the meteorite were found all around. Hundreds of these iron fragments were collected, and after evaluating the depth and size of the crater, it was estimated that the meteor's original size was likely about a meter and a half in diameter, or 4 and a half feet, and weighed around 4,000 kilograms, or about 9,000 pounds. And even more shocking, they estimate that this impact occurred just a few thousand years ago, that's fairly recent on the geologic timescale.\n\nHead of the study, Luigi Folco, said,\n\n> \"This crater is really a kind of beauty because it's so well-preserved that it will tell us a lot about small-scale meteorite impacts on the Earth's crust…It's so nice. It's so neat. There is something extraordinary about it.\"\n\nAnd there is a potential for this crater to make an impact on future asteroid defense research as well, as Folco continued,\n\n> \"…studying this crater is a good opportunity for scientists to get to a correct assessment of the hazard small impacts pose to the Earth and to devise mitigation strategies.\"\n\nMost of the Kamil meteorite chunks are on display in the Egyptian Geological Museum in Cairo, though a few pieces were brought back to be displayed in Italy. If you want to see the crater for yourself, it's since been added as a location, so searching for the Kamil Crater will bring you right to it.\n\n## Mount Mabu\n\nIn the 21st century, it might feel like we've already explored everything there is to explore. Gone are the days of sailing across the ocean and finding a previously uncharted island, we seem to know a great deal about pretty much every corner of our planet. Like the old saying goes, 'Born too late to explore earth, born too early to explore the galaxy.'\n\nBut there is one advantage we have today that explorers didn't have back in the day. Today, you don't need to hire a crew and a ship to go looking for new lands, all you need is a computer and perhaps a bit of luck, and you might hit the jackpot like a few British scientists did in 2005. While browsing Google Earth over Mozambique, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens spotted what looked to be a rainforest on Mount Mabu in the northern part of Mozambique. But after cross-referencing modern maps and literature, however, mentions of this forest were nowhere to be seen, the satellite photos of it were a first of their kind. Something unknown was out there, and they quickly gathered a team to check it out.\n\nThey teamed up with the local Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust and headed to Mount Mabu in late 2005, and what they found there was extraordinary. An old-growth rainforest, completely undocumented in modern science, now believed to be the largest medium-altitude rainforest in all of Africa. Of course, the locals had known about the rainforest for centuries, as they'd been using it for hunting, shelter, and religious ceremonies, but this was the first time that a research team had set foot in the area.\n\nOne of the most fascinating things about Mount Mabu is the fact that it has largely gone without disturbance, meaning that there was a host of unique species for the scientists to find, both in their 2005 expedition and in another one in 2008. Among these new species include a parasitic shrub, a new bush viper, a new chameleon, several new butterflies, and much more. There's also believed to be new catfish, insects, frogs, and even scorpions. Along with the new species, they also found dozens of types of birds that were previously believed to be endangered, showing that their numbers were much larger than we thought before.\n\nIn 2009, the government of Mozambique announced that it would take steps to protect Mount Mabu, mostly to prevent it from falling victim to commercial logging. Although, there has yet to be a lot of concrete progress on this front, aside from a few conservation organizations being given power to control access into the forest. There are also efforts to make the surrounding region safer, as much of it is still damaged and heavily mined from the Mozambican Civil War of the late 20th century.\n\nJust like the other locations we've covered, you can find this one for yourself on Google Earth by searching Mount Mabu, which will give you a bird's eye view of this isolated, mountain-top rainforest.\n\n## Twin Galaxies\n\nSimilar to Mount Mabu, our next location is one that stayed undocumented for so long simply because it was so inaccessible, but this time not a rainforest in the heart of Africa, instead, far, far north, in Greenland.\n\nGreenland has some of the craziest rivers on earth – fast, icy waters carving through miles and miles of glaciers. Many of these rivers have not been extensively explored for this reason, but there was one team that wanted to change that.\n\nIn 2017, Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer and Ben Stookesberry took to Google Earth and began scanning Greenland, and they found what looked to be a pair of rivers on the island's rocky western coast. After further digging, there was no name for these rivers, and they were entirely uncharted.\n\nThe trio was determined to not only explore these rivers, but to do so in kayaks, which would become the northernmost rivers ever paddled. They mapped the area as much as they could from Google Earth, but as you look further inland, the quality gets considerably worse, so there was a lot left for them to discover with their own eyes.\n\nThey named the rivers the Twin Galaxies, and to reach them they had to travel across more than 1000 kilometers or 620 miles over Greenland's ice. Because there's obviously no roads this far north in the barren wasteland that is northern Greenland, the crew had to snowkite, or kite ski, much of the journey. Kite skiing is the use of big sails to catch wind and propel yourself across the ice, allowing you to jump and ski across terrain much faster than normal. It might sound unbelievable that they traveled that far, but one of the crew members, the Canadian Sarah McNair-Landry, already held a 2010 world record in the sport, from when she and a partner kite skied 595 kilometers, or 370 miles, in just 24 hours across part of Antarctica. They also completed the first ever partial crossing of the entire frozen continent using the same method, so suffice to say she was pretty experienced in the matter.\n\nAfter towing their kayaks across the ice for days, the trio finally reached the source of the river, and began paddling down its rough waters, heading through rapids, waterfalls, and canyons, both above and below the ice. By the time they reached the end of the rivers, their entire journey had taken them 46 days. If you want to take a look at the Twin Galaxies on Google Earth, unfortunately they still haven't been named, but you can type in these coordinates:\n\n**71.3639N 051.0817W**\n\nAnd see part of these otherworldly glacial rivers for yourself.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- Google Earth has enabled discoveries of hidden geographical features, such as the Kazakh Geoglyphs.\n- The Kamil Crater in Egypt, discovered via Google Earth, is remarkably well-preserved and offers insights into meteorite impacts.\n- Mount Mabu, an undocumented rainforest in Mozambique, was found using Google Earth and contains numerous new species.\n- The Twin Galaxies rivers in Greenland were explored using Google Earth, marking the northernmost kayak expedition.\n- Google Earth has facilitated the discovery of significant geological and biological sites that were previously unknown.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What are the Kazakh Geoglyphs?\n\nThe Kazakh Geoglyphs are massive shapes and figures carved into the sand in Kazakhstan, visible only from the sky. They are often nicknamed the 'Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan'.\n\n### Who discovered the Kazakh Geoglyphs?\n\nEconomist and amateur archaeologist Dimitriy Dey discovered the Kazakh Geoglyphs in 2007 while using Google Earth.\n\n### What is the Kamil Meteorite Crater?\n\nThe Kamil Meteorite Crater is a pristine impact structure located in the East Uweinat Desert in southwestern Egypt, near the border of Sudan. It is about 45 meters in diameter.\n\n### Who discovered the Kamil Meteorite Crater?\n\nVincenzo de Michele, a curator at the Milan Natural History Museum, discovered the Kamil Meteorite Crater in 2008 using Google Earth.\n\n### What is Mount Mabu?\n\nMount Mabu is an old-growth rainforest in northern Mozambique, believed to be the largest medium-altitude rainforest in Africa. It was discovered by British scientists using Google Earth in 2005.\n\n### What unique species were found in Mount Mabu?\n\nAmong the new species found in Mount Mabu are a parasitic shrub, a new bush viper, a new chameleon, several new butterflies, and potentially new catfish, insects, frogs, and scorpions.\n\n### What are the Twin Galaxies?\n\nThe Twin Galaxies are a pair of uncharted rivers on the western coast of Greenland, discovered by Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer, and Ben Stookesberry using Google Earth in 2017.\n\n### How did the explorers reach the Twin Galaxies?\n\nThe explorers reached the Twin Galaxies by snowkiting (kite skiing) across more than 1000 kilometers of Greenland's ice, towing their kayaks with them.\n\n### What is the significance of the Twin Galaxies expedition?\n\nThe expedition to the Twin Galaxies was significant because it involved kayaking down the northernmost rivers ever paddled, and the journey took 46 days.\n\n### How can I find these locations on Google Earth?\n\nMany of these locations have been added as named locations on Google Earth. For example, you can search for the Turgai Triradial and the Ushtogayskay Square for the Kazakh Geoglyphs, the Kamil Crater for the meteorite crater, Mount Mabu for the rainforest, and use coordinates 71.3639N 051.0817W for the Twin Galaxies.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original Side Projects video: Incredible Locations People Found on Google Earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHwRgJ77G4I)\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Steppe_of_western_Kazakhstan_in_the_early_spring.jpg) by The original uploader was Carole a at English Wikipedia. / openverse, by-sa.\n\n## Related Coverage" url: https://sideprojects.pub/article/incredible-locations-people-found-on-google-earth.md canonical: https://sideprojects.pub/article/incredible-locations-people-found-on-google-earth datePublished: 2023-04-30 dateModified: 2026-07-28 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://sideprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler publisher: Side Projects image: "https://media.sideprojects.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/DHwRgJ77G4I/hero.jpg" type: NewsArticle contentHash: 58c923464c513a5b80ceaa5aa229b3939247e096a5fa9e222313f77e473c5da5 tokens: 3834 summaryUrl: https://sideprojects.pub/article/incredible-locations-people-found-on-google-earth.md.summary.md --- First released in 2001, Google Earth puts the entire world just a few clicks away. A massive compilation of photos taken of the earth's surface, captured by satellites and aircraft, gives users incredible access to our planet in stunning detail. Now, let's be honest, the first time we used it most of us immediately zoomed in on our houses to see if they really had mapped everything, and many of us didn't do much more than that. However, there are some people who used Google Earth to its full potential, and they've found some pretty incredible things among the millions of photos. Today, we'll show you four of these, and where you can spot them yourselves. ## The Kazakh Geoglyphs In 2007, economist and amateur archaeologist Dimitriy Dey was scouring the landscape in his home country of Kazakhstan on Google Earth. He had been watching a TV show about pyramids around the earth, and figured there might be some undiscovered ones in Kazakhstan as well. He didn't find any pyramids, but he did stumble upon something peculiar near the town Urpek – massive shapes and figures, seemingly carved into the sand, so large that they were visible only from the sky. These were the Steppe Geoglyphs, and Dey was credited as the first person in modern history to spot them. Once the announcement had made global news, it attracted the attention of news agencies, more Google Earth sleuths, and even NASA, who began investigating the earthwork for themselves. It is now believed that there are at least 260 individual geoglyphs in the region, often nicknamed the 'Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan', made by digging and piling of dirt to make mounds and trenches. The most impressive of the bunch have been given names, such as: - the Bestamskoe Ring - the Ashutasti Ring - the Ushtogaysky Square - The large cross Ashtasti - And the Turgay triradial swastika But while more and more were being discovered, the question of who actually built them remained. Of course, we can discount the extraterrestrial hypotheses that immediately cropped up on some select television programs, but the alternative actually leaves us with more questions than answers. You see, some of the lines have been found with Neolithic artifacts dating to at least 8,000 BC, a time when the region was inhabited by Stone Age nomadic culture known as the Mahandzhar. This would mean that even before they began the practice of agriculture and building long-term settlements, they already had enough manpower and organization to carry out huge projects. As put by Dr. Clarkson of the University of Winnipeg: > "The idea that foragers could amass the numbers of people necessary to undertake large-scale projects — like creating the Kazakhstan geoglyphs — has caused archaeologists to deeply rethink the nature and timing of sophisticated large-scale human organization as one that predates settled and civilized societies" Unfortunately, while the rest of the world took great interest in these discoveries, the government of Kazakhstan didn't feel the same way, and one of the figures, the Koga Cross, has already been destroyed during the construction of a roadway. There have been proposals to make the area a protected UNESCO site, but so far nothing has come of this. If you want to see these geoglyphs for yourself, many of them have been added as locations, such as the Turgai Triradial, and the Ushtogayskay Square can be found by typing in these exact coordinates: **50.832933°N 65.326276°E** ## The Kamil Meteorite The earth is struck with meteorites all the time, in fact, up to 20 hit the surface of our planet every single day, and many more burn up in the atmosphere before they get to the ground. However, because we don't often know where these meteorites land, and because many of them land in the ocean, their impact craters are rarely found before they've been worn down by the elements. This is why there are only about 190 confirmed impact structures in the whole world, making our next find even more special. In 2008, Vincenzo de Michele, a curator at the Milan Natural History Museum, was poring over Google Earth, but not in his home country of Italy, this time, he was looking over Egypt. While scouring the desert in southwestern Egypt, he suddenly spotted what appeared to be an absolutely pristine impact structure, soon to be called the Kamil Crater. The crater only has a diameter of about 45 meters, or 147 feet, and is located right next to the border of Sudan, right smack in the middle of the East Uweinat Desert, on the eastern half of the Sahara. After announcing his finding, Vincenzo and a group of Italian and Egyptian researchers headed down there to find the crater for themselves, and what they found exceeded their expectations. Because the Kamil Crater is in an area of the world that receives such little precipitation, it was nearly perfectly preserved, to a level generally only seen on the surface of the moon or Mars where the atmosphere and environment don't erode the evidence. This allowed scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the impact itself. It was so well preserved that they could still see the marks in the sandstone from when the fragments exploded outward, called ejecta rays, and heavy chunks of the meteorite were found all around. Hundreds of these iron fragments were collected, and after evaluating the depth and size of the crater, it was estimated that the meteor's original size was likely about a meter and a half in diameter, or 4 and a half feet, and weighed around 4,000 kilograms, or about 9,000 pounds. And even more shocking, they estimate that this impact occurred just a few thousand years ago, that's fairly recent on the geologic timescale. Head of the study, Luigi Folco, said, > "This crater is really a kind of beauty because it's so well-preserved that it will tell us a lot about small-scale meteorite impacts on the Earth's crust…It's so nice. It's so neat. There is something extraordinary about it." And there is a potential for this crater to make an impact on future asteroid defense research as well, as Folco continued, > "…studying this crater is a good opportunity for scientists to get to a correct assessment of the hazard small impacts pose to the Earth and to devise mitigation strategies." Most of the Kamil meteorite chunks are on display in the Egyptian Geological Museum in Cairo, though a few pieces were brought back to be displayed in Italy. If you want to see the crater for yourself, it's since been added as a location, so searching for the Kamil Crater will bring you right to it. ## Mount Mabu In the 21st century, it might feel like we've already explored everything there is to explore. Gone are the days of sailing across the ocean and finding a previously uncharted island, we seem to know a great deal about pretty much every corner of our planet. Like the old saying goes, 'Born too late to explore earth, born too early to explore the galaxy.' But there is one advantage we have today that explorers didn't have back in the day. Today, you don't need to hire a crew and a ship to go looking for new lands, all you need is a computer and perhaps a bit of luck, and you might hit the jackpot like a few British scientists did in 2005. While browsing Google Earth over Mozambique, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens spotted what looked to be a rainforest on Mount Mabu in the northern part of Mozambique. But after cross-referencing modern maps and literature, however, mentions of this forest were nowhere to be seen, the satellite photos of it were a first of their kind. Something unknown was out there, and they quickly gathered a team to check it out. They teamed up with the local Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust and headed to Mount Mabu in late 2005, and what they found there was extraordinary. An old-growth rainforest, completely undocumented in modern science, now believed to be the largest medium-altitude rainforest in all of Africa. Of course, the locals had known about the rainforest for centuries, as they'd been using it for hunting, shelter, and religious ceremonies, but this was the first time that a research team had set foot in the area. One of the most fascinating things about Mount Mabu is the fact that it has largely gone without disturbance, meaning that there was a host of unique species for the scientists to find, both in their 2005 expedition and in another one in 2008. Among these new species include a parasitic shrub, a new bush viper, a new chameleon, several new butterflies, and much more. There's also believed to be new catfish, insects, frogs, and even scorpions. Along with the new species, they also found dozens of types of birds that were previously believed to be endangered, showing that their numbers were much larger than we thought before. In 2009, the government of Mozambique announced that it would take steps to protect Mount Mabu, mostly to prevent it from falling victim to commercial logging. Although, there has yet to be a lot of concrete progress on this front, aside from a few conservation organizations being given power to control access into the forest. There are also efforts to make the surrounding region safer, as much of it is still damaged and heavily mined from the Mozambican Civil War of the late 20th century. Just like the other locations we've covered, you can find this one for yourself on Google Earth by searching Mount Mabu, which will give you a bird's eye view of this isolated, mountain-top rainforest. ## Twin Galaxies Similar to Mount Mabu, our next location is one that stayed undocumented for so long simply because it was so inaccessible, but this time not a rainforest in the heart of Africa, instead, far, far north, in Greenland. Greenland has some of the craziest rivers on earth – fast, icy waters carving through miles and miles of glaciers. Many of these rivers have not been extensively explored for this reason, but there was one team that wanted to change that. In 2017, Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer and Ben Stookesberry took to Google Earth and began scanning Greenland, and they found what looked to be a pair of rivers on the island's rocky western coast. After further digging, there was no name for these rivers, and they were entirely uncharted. The trio was determined to not only explore these rivers, but to do so in kayaks, which would become the northernmost rivers ever paddled. They mapped the area as much as they could from Google Earth, but as you look further inland, the quality gets considerably worse, so there was a lot left for them to discover with their own eyes. They named the rivers the Twin Galaxies, and to reach them they had to travel across more than 1000 kilometers or 620 miles over Greenland's ice. Because there's obviously no roads this far north in the barren wasteland that is northern Greenland, the crew had to snowkite, or kite ski, much of the journey. Kite skiing is the use of big sails to catch wind and propel yourself across the ice, allowing you to jump and ski across terrain much faster than normal. It might sound unbelievable that they traveled that far, but one of the crew members, the Canadian Sarah McNair-Landry, already held a 2010 world record in the sport, from when she and a partner kite skied 595 kilometers, or 370 miles, in just 24 hours across part of Antarctica. They also completed the first ever partial crossing of the entire frozen continent using the same method, so suffice to say she was pretty experienced in the matter. After towing their kayaks across the ice for days, the trio finally reached the source of the river, and began paddling down its rough waters, heading through rapids, waterfalls, and canyons, both above and below the ice. By the time they reached the end of the rivers, their entire journey had taken them 46 days. If you want to take a look at the Twin Galaxies on Google Earth, unfortunately they still haven't been named, but you can type in these coordinates: **71.3639N 051.0817W** And see part of these otherworldly glacial rivers for yourself. ## Key Takeaways - Google Earth has enabled discoveries of hidden geographical features, such as the Kazakh Geoglyphs. - The Kamil Crater in Egypt, discovered via Google Earth, is remarkably well-preserved and offers insights into meteorite impacts. - Mount Mabu, an undocumented rainforest in Mozambique, was found using Google Earth and contains numerous new species. - The Twin Galaxies rivers in Greenland were explored using Google Earth, marking the northernmost kayak expedition. - Google Earth has facilitated the discovery of significant geological and biological sites that were previously unknown. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the Kazakh Geoglyphs? The Kazakh Geoglyphs are massive shapes and figures carved into the sand in Kazakhstan, visible only from the sky. They are often nicknamed the 'Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan'. ### Who discovered the Kazakh Geoglyphs? Economist and amateur archaeologist Dimitriy Dey discovered the Kazakh Geoglyphs in 2007 while using Google Earth. ### What is the Kamil Meteorite Crater? The Kamil Meteorite Crater is a pristine impact structure located in the East Uweinat Desert in southwestern Egypt, near the border of Sudan. It is about 45 meters in diameter. ### Who discovered the Kamil Meteorite Crater? Vincenzo de Michele, a curator at the Milan Natural History Museum, discovered the Kamil Meteorite Crater in 2008 using Google Earth. ### What is Mount Mabu? Mount Mabu is an old-growth rainforest in northern Mozambique, believed to be the largest medium-altitude rainforest in Africa. It was discovered by British scientists using Google Earth in 2005. ### What unique species were found in Mount Mabu? Among the new species found in Mount Mabu are a parasitic shrub, a new bush viper, a new chameleon, several new butterflies, and potentially new catfish, insects, frogs, and scorpions. ### What are the Twin Galaxies? The Twin Galaxies are a pair of uncharted rivers on the western coast of Greenland, discovered by Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer, and Ben Stookesberry using Google Earth in 2017. ### How did the explorers reach the Twin Galaxies? The explorers reached the Twin Galaxies by snowkiting (kite skiing) across more than 1000 kilometers of Greenland's ice, towing their kayaks with them. ### What is the significance of the Twin Galaxies expedition? The expedition to the Twin Galaxies was significant because it involved kayaking down the northernmost rivers ever paddled, and the journey took 46 days. ### How can I find these locations on Google Earth? Many of these locations have been added as named locations on Google Earth. For example, you can search for the Turgai Triradial and the Ushtogayskay Square for the Kazakh Geoglyphs, the Kamil Crater for the meteorite crater, Mount Mabu for the rainforest, and use coordinates 71.3639N 051.0817W for the Twin Galaxies. ## Sources - [Original Side Projects video: Incredible Locations People Found on Google Earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHwRgJ77G4I) - [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Steppe_of_western_Kazakhstan_in_the_early_spring.jpg) by The original uploader was Carole a at English Wikipedia. / openverse, by-sa. ## Related Coverage