Franschhoek, South Africa

So there's not much to say here.  Cape Town needed to increase its water resources for the summers so they put a dam on the Berg River.  I'm assuming those are farms in the 2005 image.  Hopefully the farmers had good compensation for that!

Feb 2005

Jan 2010

LAME PUN COON

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:      33°55'29.52"S     019°03'51.24"E

More info: Berg River Dam

Check back soonish to see a traveling geologic feature!

Bourbonnais, Illinois

Now that I'm about to start my Masters degree at SFASU, I thought I'd give the time-machine treatment to the university whose amazing geology program really flung me forward with my passions for everything Earth.


This week's post features my alma mater, Olivet Nazarene University.  It's a pretty small liberal arts college about 45 minutes south of Chicago.  I received my BS in geological sciences here in May 2012.  As you can tell by the imagery, the school has added a number of big shiny buildings to the campus in the last 13 years.  These include the Weber Center (appearing in the center of the map on the 2005 frame), the Centennial Chapel (appearing in the bottom center on the 2010 frame), and the new rec center (appearing above the Weber Center in the 2012 frame).  A number of smaller buildings and parking can also be seen popping up.  If you look at the very top right of the frame, right where "West" would be on the compass rose,  you'll see two pairs of buildings separated by a parking lot.  That was my apartment complex during my junior and senior year.  I lived in the bottom right building (it was a long walk to the science building on the opposite side of campus in the cold and windy Midwestern winter!).

The animation below shows the years: 1999, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:     41°09'19.60"N     87°52'17.91"W

More info: Olivet Geological Society, Geology at ONU

Check back in two weeks to see the filling of a reservoir (as opposed to the emptying of one!)

London, UK

The 2012 Olympics in London are underway and once again, I'm as excited as ever about cheering on my favorite athletes. I watched the opening ceremonies at home with my family and was really impressed and amused to see the likes of Kenneth Branagh, J.K. Rowling, Daniel Craig, and pretty much the rest of my apparently very Brit-influenced life, preforming for the world. Well done, London!

In the olympic spirit, I went ahead and observed the aerial history of the Olympic Stadium as it came into being. It's a pretty magnificent transformation in such a relatively short period of time and looks really nifty from above!

The animation below shows the years: 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Also, check out the 3D Buildings view:

Before you go, I'd like it to be known that my favorite athletes are Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings and I expect them to win their third olympic gold in beach volleyball!  USA! USA!

You can find it yourself on Google Earth using these coords:     51°32'23.85"N     000°01'07.93"W

More info: London 2012

Check back in two weeks to see where I became a geologist!