Contest #535: Triple point of electric transmission, near Gävle, Sweden

This location is the only place in the world where all 3 basic types of electricity transmission (High Voltage Direct Current, 3-phase Alternating Current, and Single-phase Alternating Current) all intersect.

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) is pretty rarely used — primarily for very long distance transmission and/or underwater cables. The HVDC line is the one that runs from near the northwest corner of the image to the southeast. It is the Fenno-Skan2 line operated jointly by Fingrid and Svenska kraftnät. In the image below, it is the red line that runs from eastern Sweden to Finland.

HVDC Europe.svg

The other 2 lines run parallel on the track that is more north-south and are:

  • a single-phase 132kv Alternating Current (AC) line, used almost exclusively to supply train lines, that runs from Tierp to Gävle. Single phase AC lines are EXTREMELY rare.
  • a 3-phase 220kv AC line that runs from Gävle to Mehedeby.

A surprising number of people found this site with no idea whatsoever of what they were looking at. Of course, the name of the contest is “Where on Google Earth”, not “What on Google Earth”, so those who found it (all before the hint) and get the 2 points include:

  • hhgygy
  • Lighthouse
  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • Walter_V_R
  • Eloy Cano

Contest #534: the Khorgas Dryport, near the town of Khorgas in western China

The Khorgas Dryport in western China is an attempt to replicate the Silk Road as a way to get goods and materials from China to Europe.

The port lies at a midway point between Europe and China, the world’s largest economies alongside the United States. Here, freight trains will converge, cargo will be unloaded and recombined according to the destination, with new trains quickly departing (these giant cranes are capable of moving cargo between trains in just 47 minutes).

https://www.politico.eu/article/khorgas-china-kazakhstan-new-silk-road-trade/amp/

Another speck of sand found in the desert by:

  • Eloy Cano
  • hhgygy
  • Walter_V_R
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Jesus Rodriguez
  • Mehmet DURMUS
  • Steve Hoge

After the hint:

  • Glenmorren

Contest #533 – Slave Huts and Salt Pans, Bonaire

Bonaire is an island in the Caribbean. It was part of the Netherlands Antilles until that was dissolved in 2010, when the residents of the island chose to remain a “Special Municipality” of the Netherlands.

Bonaire has some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean, which is one of the reasons that tourism is so important to the island. However another economic force there is salt production.

The southern end of the island has massive salt ponds:

In the mid 1800’s, the salt ponds were worked by slaves. Small huts (emphasis on “small”) were built for the slaves as sleeping quarters.

Those who found this were:

  • hhgygy
  • Garfield
  • Lighthouse
  • Jeather
  • donaaronio
  • Walter_V_R
  • Phil Ower

And after the hint:

  • Newagincourt
  • Chris Nason