I have another location marked with exactly the same features, but in a very different setting. That one would also be solved very quickly, especially after everyone (?) has been looking for that kind of thing.
So I choose something very different.
The theme this time is something I have touched on earlier, so that's what I'm after this time too: Location, formation, and something about the water. I can't remember if the water thing is well documented, but you ought to be able to infer it from the picture.
The "Schott rule" is in force. This means previous winners have to wait one hour for each win they previously had, before they are allowed to solve.
For any new players to Where on (Google) Earth, simply post a comment with latitude and longitude and write something about the (geologic/geographic/hydrographic) feature in the picture. If you win, you get to host the next one. Previous WoGEs are collected by Felix on his blog and a KML file.
Published Friday, August 30th, 09:00 CET / 07:00 GMT.
Well, I found the location. It took quite a few hours of concerted searching that took me across several continents.
SvarSlettHowever, I'm having trouble getting the answers you seek. Google recently eliminated Wikipedia links from the web based Google Maps, and greatly reduced them in Google Earth. This makes research a difficult for amateurs like me.
I'll keep working on it. If someone else chimes in before me, no big deal. Finding the location is not the sole nor most important part of the game.
Brian
46°15'48.90"N 47°30'8.04"E (46.263584°, 47.502232°)
SvarSlettThe location is on the west side of the Volga River Delta, Southern Russia, the largest delta in Europe, which drains into the Caspian Sea. The Caspian being an endorheic basin has a salinity about 1/3rd that of sea water, although since the Volga is the primary source the northern end is much fresher than the south near Iran.
The Caspian Sea, along with the Aral Sea (what's left of it) and the Black Sea are the remains of the Paratethys Sea, which became landlocked from the Tethys Ocean about 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic uplift of several present day mountain ranges.
In this view are the Baer Hills, first described by Karl von Baer in 1856, and thought to be longitudinal sand dunes formed during the Late Glacial-Early Holocene Mangyshlak regression of the delta, where the level of the Caspian Sea level dropped to about -80m from it's current -28m. [1]
The soil in this area is experiencing salinization due to the water leaching salts from deeper soil layers, caused by capillary action during the regular flooding of the foot of the hills.[2] I hope this is the "something about the water" you were looking for.
The area is also part of the Astrakhan State Biosphere Nature Reserve, established in 1919, the first nature reserve in the former USSR.[3]
[1]"The wandering of the Volga delta: a response to rapid Caspian sea-level change "
http://csdms.colorado.edu/~overeem/conoco/papers/kroonenberg1997.pdf
[2]"Soil salinization of the Baer Mounds in the Volga River delta"
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1134%2FS1064229308020038
[3]"The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia" - pg40
http://books.google.com/books?id=fvqYSoRvAI4C&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=Astrakhan+Nature+Reserve+map&source=bl&ots=JlXYzs-L82&sig=rI8cpxJq6SJVmy3DtiRSLcOjMRc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JVYiUr3qK8y8jAL1tYGoAw&ved=0CGUQ6AEwDA#v=onepage&q=Astrakhan%20Nature%20Reserve%20map&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_delta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea
Brian
Correct, Brian!
SvarSlettThe salinity is what I was after. Like the Ouinanga Serir WoGE I presented earlier, a freshwater source leads to increasing salinity with distance from the source. Looking at the picture above, you can follow streams and channels from the reasonably fresh long lake in the middle up toward the very saline lakes at the top. That salinity gradient was my "something about the water". That and the sand dunes were what I had "touched on earlier" - here: http://overburdenblog.blogspot.no/2013/06/woge-385.html
Over to you!
I wonder what you will find for WoGE #400. :)
Excellent. I didn't want to goof like I did recently and miss the special significance of the location. This was a real challenge for me this time. Learned a lot of interesting tidbits.
SvarSlettAnyway, WoGE #400 is up!
http://www.skywise711.com/blog/2013/09/02/where-on-google-earth-400/
Brian