Top 10 Google Earth Finds

1. Atlantis Found?

Google Earth engineers soon announced that the grid pattern was merely a digital artifact created by the sonar boats collecting mapping data. Whispers still linger, but it doesn't look like anyone will be dredging up a forgotten civilization anytime soon.

See the "Atlantis" site on Google Maps.

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2.Firefox Crop Circles

Maybe alien technology isn't so foreign after all. This Firefox crop circle sprouted up in a cornfield in Oregon, but its origins are no mystery. In 2006, the Oregon State University Linux Users group created the giant logo — spanning more than 45,000 sq. ft. — to celebrate the Web browser's 50 millionth download.

See the Firefox logo on Google Maps.

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3. UFO Landing Pads, Maybe?

Here's a true Google Earth mystery. These odd formations can be found on air bases in the U.S. and Britain — this one comes from a base outside Norwich, England. The U.K.

See the "motorcycle range" on Google Maps.

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4. Oprah Maze 

She's got a massive syndicated show and a magazine called O, and she was dubbed the most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes.Why shouldn't Oprah get her own corn maze? An Arizona farmer created this 2004 tribute to the TV talk-show host.

See the Oprah maze on Google Maps.

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5.Secret Swastika

When builders of the Coronado Naval Amphibious Base in San Diego planned this complex in 1967, satellite imagery was probably the furthest thing from their minds. But in 2007, Google Earth sleuths found that four unconnected buildings on the base formed an unfortunate shape when viewed from above: a swastika.
See the swastika building on Google Maps.

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6. Lost (and Found) at Sea

The S.S. Jassim, a Bolivian cargo ferry, ran aground and sunk on the Wingate Reef off the coast of Sudan in 2003. Now it's one of the largest shipwrecks visible on Google Earth.

See the shipwreck on Google Maps.

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7. Face in the Clay

natural. Dubbed the Badlands Guardian, the "face" is actually a valley eroded into the clay. Some say the person appears to be wearing earphones; that's merely a road and an oil well. Even the Badlands Guardian, it seems, isn't immune to exploratory drilling.

See the Badlands Guardian on Google Maps.

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8. Iraq's Bloody Lake

This blood-red lake outside Iraq's Sadr City garnered a fair share of macabre speculation when it was noticed in 2007. One tipster told the tech blog Boing Boing that he was "told by a friend" that slaughterhouses in Iraq sometimes dump blood into canals. No one has offered an official explanation, but it's more likely that the color comes from sewage, pollution or a water-treatment process.
See Iraq's bloody lake on Google Maps.

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9. Airplane Graveyard

The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base outside Tuscon, Ariz., is where old planes go to die. More than 4,000 military aircraft are parked on the base, from B-52s to stealth bombers, where they are salvaged for parts and broken down for scrap. It's one of the most popular satellite pictures online, making guided tours of the area a hot ticket.
See the airplane graveyard on Google Maps.

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10. Missile Test?

Google Earth has plenty of examples of planes, helicopters — even hot air balloons — caught in flight, but this cruise missile, thought to have been fired during military training exercises in the Utah mountains, might be the most unlikely capture yet. If it is, in fact, a cruise missile. Many dispute the image and say it's merely an airplane. You be the judge, but if you look closely, the "missile" appears to have wings.

See the missile on Google Maps.