Contest #531: Mud Volcanoes, near Baku, Azerbaijan

The country of Azerbaijan, on the western coast of the Caspian Sea is home to about 40% of the mud volcanoes in the world.

The Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (a National Park) hosts at least two of these interesting landscape features.

The appearance of the Zoroastrian religion in Azerbaijan almost 2,000 years ago is closely connected with these geological phenomena, and Azerbaijan’s etymology – Land of the Eternal Fire derives from its Zoroastrian history.

Found the mud:

  • hhgygy
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Mehmet Durmus
  • Jesus Rodriguez

After the hint:

  • Walter_V_R
  • Rodrigo Jurado
  • Andy McConnell
  • donaaronio
  • Chris Nason
  • Newagincourt

Contest #530: Cabo Raper Lighthouse, Chile

This concludes our popular series of contests based on a lighthouse theme. Phil Ower and Garfield found all 10 locations for a perfect score. Congratulations to both.

This weeks’ location was the lighthouse at Cabo Raper on the coast of southern Chile. I chose this location as there is an interesting story about the building of the lighthouse – the construction of a railway to connect a landing location for the materials with the rather windswept and rocky location of the lighthouse.

http://www.railwaysofthefarsouth.co.uk/13elighthouses.html has information and pictures on the railway and lighthouse. More images of relics of the railway can be found at http://www.railwaysofthefarsouth.co.uk/13fcaboraperreli.html

The rail line up to the lighthouse:

Found without a light:

  • Lighthouse (of course!)
  • Eloy Cano
  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • Walter_V_R
  • hhgygy

After the hint:

  • New Agincourt
  • rob de wolff

Contest 529: Gantheaume Point, near Broome, Western Australia

The latest in our lighthouse series took us to the lighthouse at Gantheaume Point, Western Australia. This lighthouse was built in 1906, but automated soon after in 1917. The lighthouse now in this location was built in 1984.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Gantheaume Point is also famous for the National Heritage listed dinosaur footprints found in the intertidal area. During the Cretaceous period, Broome was a massive river delta rich with dinosaur life. At least nine species of dinosaur footprints have been identified in the 130 million year old Broome sandstone. At Gantheaume Point you can see good examples of three-toed theropod prints and enormous round sauropod prints. The theropod prints belonged to five metre long Tyrannosaurus-type predatory dinosaurs, and the sauropod prints show where 30 metre long, 70 tonne Brontosaurus-type dinosaurs walked.

Footprints

Located in the red sand:

  • Eloy Cano
  • Walter_V_R
  • hhgygy
  • Phil Ower
  • Glenmorren
  • Luís Filipe Miguel
  • David Kozina
  • Garfield
  • Mehmet DURMUS
  • Jeather
  • rob de wolff
  • Lighthouse!

After the hint:

  • Andy McConnell
  • Declan Moore
  • Robin