Welcome to the World Imagery Challenge
the online component of
Enriching Students' Understanding of Proportion: Google Earth and the Concept of Map Scale
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School – April 2010 issue
Martin C. Roberge and Linda L. Cooper
Travel around the world and view 19 sets of printable images from various locations.
How many of these places do you recognize? Use the images’ map scale to answer their
accompanying questions.
Good Luck and Bon Voyage!
An important note:
Within the following images, the numerical value above the scale bar
corresponds to the entire length of the scale bar.
Welcome to the World Imagery Challenge
the online component of
A
Below are two farms in Iowa. How far apart are they? Provide your answer in feet and then convert to
miles.
Now examine the distance between roads. What can you say about the layout of roads in this section of
the Midwest?
B
The following two images show two-way traffic on a lock on the Panama Canal. For now, just enjoy the
view. You’ll need to refer back to these images as you answer questions from location C.
C
The image below shows the port of Gibraltar. The red line is the border between Gibraltar to the south
and Spain to the north. Gibraltar, a peninsula connected by land to Spain, is a territory of Great Britain.
The Strait of Gibraltar divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea.
1) Look at the ocean freighters in this and the following two images of the port of Gibraltar. Which
of these freighters could pass through the Panama Canal?
2) Adjacent to the border is a runway for Gibraltar’s airport. For many years when Spain closed its
border with Gibraltar (1969-1985) this runway had tremendous importance to the economic
health of Gibraltar and became a lifeline for those that lived on the Rock. You can see that land
was reclaimed from the surrounding sea in order to extend the runway. How long is the
Gibraltar runway? You wouldn’t want to overshoot this runway!
Which, if any, of these freighters could pass through the Panama Canal? Be able to explain how you
made your decisions.
Here’s a close-up of one of the freighters. Could it fit through the present-day Panama Canal? The boat
tied alongside the freighter is guiding it into port.
Ocean freighters have grown in size since the early 1900s when the Panama Canal was completed.
Work is currently underway to widen the locks on the Canal, a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. Ships that are too large to fit through the lock must travel through treacherous seas around the
tip of South America.
Here’s another image of the Rock of Gibraltar with its runway in the foreground and Africa in the distant
background. The Strait of Gibraltar (leading to the Atlantic Ocean) lies to the right and the
Mediterranean Sea lies to the left.
D
Find the length of one of the runways at Dulles International Airport (Virginia). Compare its length to
that of the runway on Gibraltar.
E
What is the large object in this image?
What country is this image from?
What are the dimensions of the square base of the large object?
Compare this object to that in Challenge F.
250 m
Here is a streetview of the same image.
F
What are the two large objects in this image?
What country is this image from?
What are the dimensions of the base of the larger object?
F
G
This is RFK (Robert Francis Kennedy) Stadium, the home of the Washington Nationals baseball
team. What is the diameter of the stadium?
H
What is the name of the large statue in the southeast corner?
Find the only flag pole on this island. What direction is it from the statue to the flagpole?
I
This is the Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, where the Zambezi River
plunges 360 feet (108 m) into a gorge. This waterfall is neither the world’s widest, highest, nor
greatest in volume. Amazing, don’t you think?
How wide are the falls?
457 m
J
What is the name of this tower?
In what country does it reside?
Can you name the city where it is located?
How far is it between the legs of this tower?
K
What is this place? Use the map scale to judge the size of objects in this image to give you a
clue as to what it is.
L
This is the Thames River which flows through London.
How wide is the river at the bend?
There is a giant Ferris wheel in this picture. Can you find it? Hint: Look for its shadow in the
river.
930 m
M
What are the orange-brown ripples in this picture? Roughly how big are they? (Are they larger
than a person? Are they larger than a house?) Remember to use the image’s map scale to judge
distance in this image. Note that the units of this map scale are in miles. Was this photograph
taken up close, or far away?
Here’s another image, from a different perspective, of the same geographical feature. These
sand dunes are much larger than a house!
N
The Taj Mahal is located in India. It’s actually a mausoleum built in the 1600s by the Muslim
Emperor Shah Jahan who was grief stricken over the loss of his wife who died during the birth
of their fourteenth child. The Taj Mahal was built in her memory and houses her tomb.
What is the width of the square marked by the red arrow? What is the area of this square?
O
This is St. Peter’s Plaza of the Vatican. The Vatican City is a very small country surrounded by
the city of Rome, Italy. What are the dots in this image? Use your map scale to judge the reallife size of the dots.
P
What are these unusual circles?
What are the diameters of the circles IN TERMS OF MILES? Remember 5,280 feet equals 1 mile.
Q
Can you identify this building?
This building is located in which city?
How long is this building (north-south)?
R
This is the Canyon de Chelly National Monument located in Arizona. To keep safe people built
houses in the cliff.
Examine the path of the canyon. Draw the shape of the valley floor.
Houses built in the cliff wall in the Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
S
This is Mount Fuji, a volcano just outside Tokyo, Japan.
How wide is the crater of this massive volcano?
A cloud forming a perfect ‘umbrella’ over Mt. Fuji.
World Imagery Challenge List and Answer Key
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
P.
Q.
R.
S.
Midwest towns
Panama Canal
Gibraltar Dulles
Dulles International Airport
Pyramid at Teotihuacan, Mexico
Egyptian pyramids
RFK Stadium, Washington, DC
Statue of Liberty, NY
Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, TX
Thames River, London, England
Namib desert, Namibia
Taj Mahal, India
Vatican City (Italy)
Crop circles, Kansas, US
U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, DC
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ
Mt. Fuji, Japan
Note: Answers are approximations. Distances and dimensions of objects in printed Google Earth
images were measured using a simple ruler and compared to the images’ scale bars to estimate actual
distances.
A.
Midwest towns
Measure the distance between two marked farms. Roughly 2 miles.
5
8
1 𝑖𝑛
6,954 𝑓𝑡
=
2.5 𝑖𝑛
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
; x = 10,698 ft  2 miles
Roads are laid out one mile apart in much of the Midwest.
B.
Panama Canal, Panama
What is the maximum width that a ship can be to pass through the lock?
0.95 𝑐𝑚
4.15 𝑐𝑚
= 143 𝑚 ; x = 32.7 meters (actual beam width of lock is 110 feet  33.5 meters)
𝑥𝑚
C.
Gibraltar
How long is the Gibraltar runway?
8 𝑐𝑚
𝑥𝑚
=
4.15 𝑐𝑚
946 𝑚
; x = 1,823 m
Measure the width of the ocean freighters.
Only the largest freighter in this image of multiple freighters (singleton in following image) is too
wide to fit through the present-day Panama Canal.
𝑥 𝑐𝑚
4.15 𝑐𝑚
= 311 𝑚 ; x = 0.44 meters;
32.7 𝑚
Any freighter wider than 0.44 meters is too wide to fit through the lock.
Students may think to check the length of the freighters. All freighters in this image are short
enough to fit through the lock.
D.
Dulles International Airport, Virginia
Find the length of one of the runways at Dulles International Airport (Virginia). The runway
running north-south on the west side of the terminal is 3,519 meters, considerably longer than
the strip on Gibraltar.
6.1 𝑐𝑚
𝑥𝑚
E.
4.15 𝑚
= 2,394 𝑚 ; x = 3,519 meters
Mexican pyramid
What is the large object in this image?
What country is this image from?
pyramid
Mexico
What are the dimensions of the square base of the large object?
3.8 𝑐𝑚
4.1 𝑚
approximately 230 meters x 230 meters
= 250 𝑚 ; x = 232 meters
𝑥𝑚
F.
Egyptian pyramids
What are the two large objects in this image? pyramids
What country is this image from? Egypt
What are the dimensions of the base of the larger object?
3.9 𝑐𝑚
4.2 𝑚
approximately 230 meters x 230 meters
=
; x = 232 meters
𝑥𝑚
250 𝑚
G.
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
What is the diameter of the stadium? approximately 711 feet
4
3
16
𝑖𝑛
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
H.
5
1 𝑖𝑛
8
= 276
; x = 711 feet
𝑓𝑡
Statue of Liberty
What is the name of the large statue in the southeast corner? Statue of Liberty
What direction is it from the statue to the flagpole? Northwest
I.
Victoria Falls, border of Zambia and Zimbabwe
How wide are the falls?
16.5 𝑐𝑚
𝑥𝑚
J.
4.4 𝑚
(actual width 1,708m)
= 457 𝑚 ; x = 1,714 meters
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
What is the name of this tower? Eiffel Tower
In what country does it reside? France
Can you name the city where it is located? Paris
How far is it between the legs of this tower? approximately 252 feet
1
11
16
𝑖𝑛
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
K.
5
1 𝑖𝑛
8
= 243
; x = 252 feet
𝑓𝑡
Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport, Texas
What is this place? This is an airport.
L.
Thames River, London, England
How wide is the river at the bend? approximately 300 meters.
1.3 𝑐𝑚
𝑥𝑚
=
4 𝑐𝑚
930 𝑚
; x = 302.25 meters
The Ferris wheel is in the center of the image on the banks of the river.
M.
Namib Desert, Namibia
What are the orange-brown ripples in this picture?
This image of sand dunes was taken from VERY far away (6.37 miles)! The sand dunes
are much larger than a house! The white area is salt from a dried up river.
N.
Taj Mahal, India
What is the width of the square marked by the red arrow. 95 m
3.5 𝑐𝑚
𝑥𝑚
=
3.35 𝑐𝑚
91 𝑚
; x = 95 meters
What is the area of this square? 95m x 95m =9,025 m2
O.
St. Peter’s Plaza, Vatican City
What are the dots in this image? people waiting in line to see the Sistine Chapel
P.
Crop Circles, Kansas
What are these unusual circles? irrigated crop circles
What are the diameters of the circles IN TERMS OF MILES? 1/2 mile
1.75 𝑖𝑛
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
Q.
5
1 𝑖𝑛
8
= 2,440
; x = 2,628 feet  ½ mile
𝑓𝑡
U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
Can you identify this building? U.S. Capitol Building
This building is located in which city? Washington, D.C.
How long is this building (north-south)? approximately 800 feet
2
3
16
𝑖𝑛
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
5
8
1 𝑖𝑛
= 593 𝑓𝑡 ; x = 798 feet
R.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona
Draw the shape of the valley floor.
S.
Mount Fuji, Japan
How wide is the crater of this massive volcano? East-West: approximately 683m
1.4 𝑐𝑚
𝑥 𝑓𝑡
4.1 𝑐𝑚
= 2,000 𝑚 ; x = 683 meters