Happy Birthday, Google Earth!

Hidden Forest Teems with Wildlife

In 2005, a team of scientists lead by researchers at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, in London, stumbled upon a previously unknown rainforest (to most of the world, anyway -- some locals knew it existed) in Mozambique while searching for potential spots for conservation projects. The site, dubbed Mount Mabu, showed up as a dark green patch in the northern part of the country.

In November 2008, a research team comprised of scientists from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Belgium and Switzerland traveled to the forest and found that it has astonishingly diverse fauna and flora. In addition to a number of rare flowers and animals, the team discovered three new species of butterfly and one new species of forest adder, a poisonous snake.

Backyard Discovery

In this case, Google Earth uncovered a surprise practically in a user's own backyard. Italian computer programmer Luca Mori was looking at his neighborhood in Sorbolo, Parma, back in 2005 when he noticed an odd oval shape accompanied by dark rectangular shapes. Local archeologists from Parma's National Archaeological Museum explored the area and turned up an Italian villa that is possibly over 2,000 years old.