Strange things are afoot in the deserts of China...

Bunches of e-mails, tweets and Facebook discussions today about some downright mystifying patterns that users of Google Earth have spotted carved into the floor of the Chinese desert.

Gizmodo has been on top of this story since it first came to light and you can find pics of many more odd structures. Some readers have also pointed me toward SlashGear's discussion of the patterns. Some of these configurations are huge: one has been measured at being approximately 18 square miles (or 29 square kilometers for our Brittish brethren and others using Metric reckoning).

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Has Google Earth found Atlantis?

The latest version of Google Earth, which has a new oceanographic feature, has found a very odd feature on the Atlantic floor hundreds of miles northwest of the Canary Islands. Here's the screengrab that I took of it, including the coordinates...

It's said to be as large as Wales, and sits beneath three and a half miles of water. Some are saying that Google Earth might have stumbled upon the location of fabled Atlantis. Interestingly, the site does rest in the spot beyond the Strait of Gibraltar where Plato said Atlantis rose and fell.

My hunch is that this is going to turn out to be some natural feature on the eastern flanks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. But it is plenty intriguing that it looks so regular and organized, almost like the layout of a city.

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Google Earth going under the sea

After already putting practically every square meter of the Earth's land surface (sometimes hilariously so) at anyone's fingertips, Google is now turning its attention to the next-to-last frontier. The company is set to announce that its Google Earth will soon include mapping of the world's ocean floor.

I can imagine all kinds of fun that will be had with this. From the comfort of home users will now be able to search for Atlantis, zoom in on Rapture, and even take a peek at R'lyeh without having to disturb great Cthulhu's slumber.

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