Friday, July 18, 2008

Stitching Error


While I was camping at Sharbot Lake, my two sons and I were enjoying a glass of wine as we surveyed the lake from a high vantage point, just behind our campsite. While gazing across the lake, we noticed a perfectly straight line across the water. This line was unaffected by the wind, which was shifting. It was unaffected by the westering sun. Even the wake of a power boat did not disturb it. For an hour or more, it was unaffected by any change in the environment. We discussed it at great length: "What could cause this strange phenomenon? Could it be a strong current? Is it a rock shelf below the water?" But then it finally dawned on us! This was one of those places where Google Earth hasn't spliced its images together quite perfectly! Check it out at 44 44 25 N 76 39 24 W (paste these coordinates into the "Fly to" field of Google Earth). The line you see there is in the south east arm of Sharbot Lake. Apparently they've fixed the splice where we were (on the western end of the lake) after we got back. (Double click the picture to clearly see the line.)