Checked 3 November 2026 in Google Earth on the web (Chrome, signed out) at each set of coordinates.
| Find | Where | Found | Status | Coordinates (paste into Earth search) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickman crater | Near Newman, Western Australia | July 2007 | Confirmed on the ground | -23.03706, 119.68314 |
| Mount Mabu, the “Google Forest” | Northern Mozambique | Visited by scientists in 2005 | Confirmed on the ground | -16.29778, 36.39417 |
| Malapa fossil site | Cradle of Humankind, South Africa | August 2008 | Confirmed on the ground | -25.89510, 27.80130 |
| The Amelia Earhart claim on Nikumaroro | Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands, Kiribati | Reported March 2026 | Unverified claim | -4.67556, -174.51778 |
Hickman crater, Western Australia
In July 2007, Arthur Hickman, a geologist with the Geological Survey of Western Australia, was browsing Google Earth when he noticed a round structure near Newman. It turned out to be a meteorite impact crater about 260 metres wide and 30 metres deep, thought to be between 10,000 and 100,000 years old (newer research suggests about 50,000). A later drill hole confirmed it was made by a meteorite.1
What you’ll see: at -23.03706, 119.68314 Google Earth labels the spot “Hickmans Crater”. The rim is a clear ring in the red ground, and the scale bar shows it is a few hundred metres across. On our check the imagery was dated 9 February 2023 (shown as 09/02/2023).
Try it: measure the crater yourself with Earth’s measuring tool (Measure on the web, the ruler in Earth Pro), as in our guide to measuring distance and area; a line across the rim should come out close to 260 metres (about 850 feet). Then use the same line for an elevation profile to see the dip.
Mount Mabu, the “Google Forest”, Mozambique
Mount Mabu’s rainforest was well known to people living nearby but almost unknown to science. Researchers found it on Google Earth’s satellite view while looking for unknown wildlife hotspots in Africa, and expeditions followed in 2005 and, with scientists from Kew, in 2008. The forest covers about 7,000 hectares (about 17,000 acres), and it is often called the “Google Forest”.2
What you’ll see: at -16.29778, 36.39417, from about 22 km up, the forest is a large dark green block, with paler, patchier land around it. On our check the imagery was dated 22 November 2023.
Try it: zoom out to see how the forest sits on the mountain, then switch to historical imagery in Earth Pro or on the web to compare older pictures of the forest edge.
Malapa fossil site, South Africa
In 2008, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger used Google Earth to map known caves in the Cradle of Humankind, near Johannesburg. The pattern he saw there, plus a lot of searching on foot, led him to almost 500 caves that had not been recorded before. He found the Malapa site on 1 August 2008, and on 15 August his 9-year-old son Matthew found the first bone of an early human ancestor there: a collarbone. The species was named Australopithecus sediba in 2010; a 2011 study dated the fossils to about 1.977 million years ago.3
What you’ll see: at -25.8951, 27.8013 there is dry grassland with scattered trees, a stream bed labelled Grootvleispruit and a track leading to a small cluster of trees. On our check the imagery was dated 15 July 2026. Berger noticed that clusters of trees in this area often mark cave deposits.3
Try it: add a placemark at the coordinates, then look for other clusters of trees nearby. Our coordinates guide shows how to enter a pair and copy one back out.
The Amelia Earhart claim on Nikumaroro
Not every “Google Earth find” holds up. In a March 2026 report, pilot Justin Myers said he had spotted a dark, straight object on the reef of Nikumaroro, an uninhabited atoll in the Pacific. He used Google Earth’s measuring tool and got about 39 feet, the length of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra. He says he tried several agencies and was largely ignored; the US National Transportation Safety Board told him the island was outside its jurisdiction. Nothing has been confirmed.4 An earlier sonar image near Howland Island that looked like a plane turned out to be a rock formation.4
What you’ll see: at -4.67556, -174.51778 Google Earth labels “Nikumaroro Island”: a long, narrow coral atoll around a turquoise lagoon, with surf on the outer reef.5 From 14 km up you cannot pick out a 39-foot object; Myers zoomed in on one stretch of reef.
Try it, with care: a straight shadow or rock can look like wreckage in one image. Before you believe a find, check older images of the same spot in historical imagery. If the view itself looks soft or won’t sharpen, our blurry imagery guide helps you tell a blurry place from a loading problem.
How to look for something yourself
- Start from exact coordinates. Paste a pair into the search box, as in our coordinates guide, so you and anyone you tell are looking at the same spot.
- Note the imagery date. On the web it is usually in the bottom bar (it was missing at Nikumaroro in our check). A “new” feature can be a shadow or a season.
- Compare dates. Use historical imagery to see whether the shape is in more than one picture.
- Measure it. Earth’s measuring tool gives the size; see measuring distance and area.
- Check the ground shape. An elevation profile shows whether a ring is really a dip or a rise.
- Pick the right version. Tools differ between Earth on the web, Earth Pro and the mobile app; our web vs Pro vs mobile comparison compares them by task.
A satellite picture can only tell you where to look. Each confirmed find in this guide was checked by people on the ground.
