Anonymous
09/18/05 10:00 PM
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http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.509205,45.829607&spn=0.004470,0.005443&t=k&hl=en
I was hiking by satallite through a mountainous region in Iraq and could tell I was getting close to something interesting by all the berms and trenches I was encountering. Then, I came across the ridge pictured in the link above, and it looked like a scene straight out of ALIEN. Several towering cylindrical objects jutted out of the ridgeline at strange angles. I have no idea what they can be and would appreciate any speculation.
Thanks
Pdunn
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romulusnr
09/29/05 05:07 PM
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Are you sure they are jutting out? They look sort of like these: http://googleglobetrotting.com/info.php/mid/9935
They could also be tunnel entrances. In any case, they are very close to the Iraq-Iran border, so I'd think either a military or smuggling purpose is likely.
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kjfitz
09/29/05 05:16 PM
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I assumed they were bunker or cave entrances myself.
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Anonymous
09/30/05 12:19 AM
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Evidently, I posted the wrong link to the objects jutting out of the ridgeline. I clicked on it and got a wide shot of the US. Here's another go at it:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.509205,45.829607&spn=0.004470,0.005443&t=k&hl=en
Hopefully, clicking through this will demonstrate what I meant. The objects are definitely jutting out of the hillside. After studying some of the surrounding countryside and finding similar shapes on their sides, I'm inclined to believe what we're seeing are geologic. I imagine they are crystaline (huge, however) and are harder than the surrounding rock strata. Over the eons the soft earth around them has erroded, leaving these enormous towers at odd angles. The large number of bunkers and berms in this area, I've come to believe, are just coincidence.
However, that's just a guess. I'd love to hear from someone who knows.
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Anonymous
09/30/05 12:20 AM
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Clicked on my link and it sent me to a map of the US again. It did reach my intended map when I cut and pasted.
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kjfitz
09/30/05 01:09 AM
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(You have to cut and paste the whole URL. The forum software stops converting the link at the comma.)
Nope, definitely trenches, sort of like slots in the mountain.
Do you ever use Google Earth? If so enter: 33.509205, 45.829607
If you look around the area at the geologic formations and rocks you'll soon see that the sun is shining from the SW casting shadows to the NE. Now go back to the formations and you'll see they are trenches.
You are experiencing the classic "Crater and hill" optical illusion.
http://www.qualitytrading.com/illusions/crater.html
kjfitz
Virtual Globetrotting Moderator
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Anonymous
09/30/05 01:36 AM
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We are talking about the four objects at the top of the hill, right? I've looked, squinted, closed one eye and I am absolutely, positively certain that these objects are coming up above the surface. Until they come out with Google Earth for the Mac, I'm out of luck on that perspective. But I sure can't see anyway that the objects I'm looking at are holes or depressions. I can even see the shadows they cast on the ground below them.
Here's the link I'm referring to: (must cut and paste)
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.509205,45.829607&spn=0.004470,0.005443&t=k&hl=en
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romulusnr
09/30/05 02:27 PM
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Google Earth is probably not going to help with the little sticking out points because it is based on topographic contours.
FWIW, Here's a screenshot of the spot in Google Maps, taken at an angle: <a href=http://www.keithtyler.com/iraq-border-trenches.png>link</a>
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