What is this black patch on the ocean floor featured on Google Maps? [closed]
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up vote
17
down vote
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I would like to visit this location around latitude 14.346756 & longitude -80.223648. However, there is a black patch on the ocean floor in Google Maps (only visible in satellite view).
What is this?
islands caribbean
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
closed as off-topic by Giorgio, Michael Seifert, CGCampbell, Ali Awan, David Richerby Oct 30 '17 at 8:14
- This question does not appear to be about traveling within the scope defined in the help center.
 |Â
show 1 more comment
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
I would like to visit this location around latitude 14.346756 & longitude -80.223648. However, there is a black patch on the ocean floor in Google Maps (only visible in satellite view).
What is this?
islands caribbean
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
closed as off-topic by Giorgio, Michael Seifert, CGCampbell, Ali Awan, David Richerby Oct 30 '17 at 8:14
- This question does not appear to be about traveling within the scope defined in the help center.
7
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
9
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
3
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
9
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
2
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46
 |Â
show 1 more comment
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
I would like to visit this location around latitude 14.346756 & longitude -80.223648. However, there is a black patch on the ocean floor in Google Maps (only visible in satellite view).
What is this?
islands caribbean
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
I would like to visit this location around latitude 14.346756 & longitude -80.223648. However, there is a black patch on the ocean floor in Google Maps (only visible in satellite view).
What is this?
islands caribbean
islands caribbean
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
edited Oct 30 '17 at 14:46
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
asked Oct 25 '17 at 21:25
Fab von Bellingshausen
19415
19415
closed as off-topic by Giorgio, Michael Seifert, CGCampbell, Ali Awan, David Richerby Oct 30 '17 at 8:14
- This question does not appear to be about traveling within the scope defined in the help center.
closed as off-topic by Giorgio, Michael Seifert, CGCampbell, Ali Awan, David Richerby Oct 30 '17 at 8:14
- This question does not appear to be about traveling within the scope defined in the help center.
7
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
9
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
3
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
9
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
2
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46
 |Â
show 1 more comment
7
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
9
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
3
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
9
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
2
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46
7
7
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
9
9
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
3
3
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
9
9
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
2
2
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46
 |Â
show 1 more comment
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
32
down vote
accepted
If you zoom in, an atoll appears in that area:
Yet, this looks a little strange.
But also have a look at the group of four black spots north of your area. If you zoom in, the spots are suddenly filled with satellite images.
This is just a guess, but I think the usual satellite images are overlaid by a layer of ocean images, and this layer is made transparent where there are coast lines or other areas where satellite images would be better.
While the ocean layer is the same for almost all zoom levels, the satellite images are incomplete and not available for all zoom levels. And if there is no satellite image data, the hole in the ocean layer appears black.
(if someone wants to hide something there, it would be less suspicious to let it look like ocean)
EDIT:
While Google Maps does not show anything in its map layer there, OpenStreetMap contains much more detailed information, including the name of that place: Serrana bank
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
add a comment |Â
up vote
23
down vote
I think it's Serrana Bank / Banco de Serrana, "a mostly underwater reef with 6 cays." from Wikipedia
The Google imagery is misleading in that it looks like the entire area is an island. The color change is mainly due to the relatively shallow depth in the area with the edges being the reefs.
And, surprise! there used to be a US military base there.
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Its nothing - its an artefact introduced by the Google Maps mapping system due to poor data, imagery or other issue.
There are loads of similar artefacts in the Google Maps product forum topic "Data Problems Compendium v 1110 January 19, 2012"
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
32
down vote
accepted
If you zoom in, an atoll appears in that area:
Yet, this looks a little strange.
But also have a look at the group of four black spots north of your area. If you zoom in, the spots are suddenly filled with satellite images.
This is just a guess, but I think the usual satellite images are overlaid by a layer of ocean images, and this layer is made transparent where there are coast lines or other areas where satellite images would be better.
While the ocean layer is the same for almost all zoom levels, the satellite images are incomplete and not available for all zoom levels. And if there is no satellite image data, the hole in the ocean layer appears black.
(if someone wants to hide something there, it would be less suspicious to let it look like ocean)
EDIT:
While Google Maps does not show anything in its map layer there, OpenStreetMap contains much more detailed information, including the name of that place: Serrana bank
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
add a comment |Â
up vote
32
down vote
accepted
If you zoom in, an atoll appears in that area:
Yet, this looks a little strange.
But also have a look at the group of four black spots north of your area. If you zoom in, the spots are suddenly filled with satellite images.
This is just a guess, but I think the usual satellite images are overlaid by a layer of ocean images, and this layer is made transparent where there are coast lines or other areas where satellite images would be better.
While the ocean layer is the same for almost all zoom levels, the satellite images are incomplete and not available for all zoom levels. And if there is no satellite image data, the hole in the ocean layer appears black.
(if someone wants to hide something there, it would be less suspicious to let it look like ocean)
EDIT:
While Google Maps does not show anything in its map layer there, OpenStreetMap contains much more detailed information, including the name of that place: Serrana bank
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
add a comment |Â
up vote
32
down vote
accepted
up vote
32
down vote
accepted
If you zoom in, an atoll appears in that area:
Yet, this looks a little strange.
But also have a look at the group of four black spots north of your area. If you zoom in, the spots are suddenly filled with satellite images.
This is just a guess, but I think the usual satellite images are overlaid by a layer of ocean images, and this layer is made transparent where there are coast lines or other areas where satellite images would be better.
While the ocean layer is the same for almost all zoom levels, the satellite images are incomplete and not available for all zoom levels. And if there is no satellite image data, the hole in the ocean layer appears black.
(if someone wants to hide something there, it would be less suspicious to let it look like ocean)
EDIT:
While Google Maps does not show anything in its map layer there, OpenStreetMap contains much more detailed information, including the name of that place: Serrana bank
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
If you zoom in, an atoll appears in that area:
Yet, this looks a little strange.
But also have a look at the group of four black spots north of your area. If you zoom in, the spots are suddenly filled with satellite images.
This is just a guess, but I think the usual satellite images are overlaid by a layer of ocean images, and this layer is made transparent where there are coast lines or other areas where satellite images would be better.
While the ocean layer is the same for almost all zoom levels, the satellite images are incomplete and not available for all zoom levels. And if there is no satellite image data, the hole in the ocean layer appears black.
(if someone wants to hide something there, it would be less suspicious to let it look like ocean)
EDIT:
While Google Maps does not show anything in its map layer there, OpenStreetMap contains much more detailed information, including the name of that place: Serrana bank
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
edited Oct 26 '17 at 6:57
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
answered Oct 25 '17 at 22:05
sweber
1,145612
1,145612
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
add a comment |Â
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
But what island is it? Does it have a name?
– Robert Columbia
Oct 25 '17 at 22:20
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@DavidRicherby: Actually, no. Google Earth has no maps, and Google Maps (normal and mobile) just displays blue ocean at that location.
– sweber
Oct 26 '17 at 10:09
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
@sweber Oh, you're right. I had zoomed out, switched to map view, zoomed back in to roughly the same place and confused Serranilla Bank (about 160km north-north-east) with Serrana Bank.
– David Richerby
Oct 26 '17 at 10:13
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
There is a similar feature about 95km SSE (Roncador Cay) which is visible in OpenStreetMap but blacked out on Google Maps (even if you zoom in): google.com/maps/@13.5817221,-80.0917016,4756m/data=!3m1!1e3 I agree it is probably not deliberately concealed but just missing from the satellite imagery database.
– Fab von Bellingshausen
Oct 26 '17 at 12:42
add a comment |Â
up vote
23
down vote
I think it's Serrana Bank / Banco de Serrana, "a mostly underwater reef with 6 cays." from Wikipedia
The Google imagery is misleading in that it looks like the entire area is an island. The color change is mainly due to the relatively shallow depth in the area with the edges being the reefs.
And, surprise! there used to be a US military base there.
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
23
down vote
I think it's Serrana Bank / Banco de Serrana, "a mostly underwater reef with 6 cays." from Wikipedia
The Google imagery is misleading in that it looks like the entire area is an island. The color change is mainly due to the relatively shallow depth in the area with the edges being the reefs.
And, surprise! there used to be a US military base there.
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
23
down vote
up vote
23
down vote
I think it's Serrana Bank / Banco de Serrana, "a mostly underwater reef with 6 cays." from Wikipedia
The Google imagery is misleading in that it looks like the entire area is an island. The color change is mainly due to the relatively shallow depth in the area with the edges being the reefs.
And, surprise! there used to be a US military base there.
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
I think it's Serrana Bank / Banco de Serrana, "a mostly underwater reef with 6 cays." from Wikipedia
The Google imagery is misleading in that it looks like the entire area is an island. The color change is mainly due to the relatively shallow depth in the area with the edges being the reefs.
And, surprise! there used to be a US military base there.
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
answered Oct 25 '17 at 23:14
mkennedy
5,6692339
5,6692339
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
add a comment |Â
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The color change is not due to the shallow depth; it is caused by the overlap with a different set of images taken under different circumstances (specifically, having different hue/saturation)
– Jan Doggen
Oct 26 '17 at 9:41
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
The island looks like a penis? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serrana_Bank
– Troyer
Oct 26 '17 at 14:29
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Its nothing - its an artefact introduced by the Google Maps mapping system due to poor data, imagery or other issue.
There are loads of similar artefacts in the Google Maps product forum topic "Data Problems Compendium v 1110 January 19, 2012"
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
Its nothing - its an artefact introduced by the Google Maps mapping system due to poor data, imagery or other issue.
There are loads of similar artefacts in the Google Maps product forum topic "Data Problems Compendium v 1110 January 19, 2012"
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
add a comment |Â
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
Its nothing - its an artefact introduced by the Google Maps mapping system due to poor data, imagery or other issue.
There are loads of similar artefacts in the Google Maps product forum topic "Data Problems Compendium v 1110 January 19, 2012"
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
Its nothing - its an artefact introduced by the Google Maps mapping system due to poor data, imagery or other issue.
There are loads of similar artefacts in the Google Maps product forum topic "Data Problems Compendium v 1110 January 19, 2012"
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
answered Oct 25 '17 at 21:38
Moo
14.1k35065
14.1k35065
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Clash Royale CLAN TAG
7
This is the same location in Bing maps.
– brhans
Oct 25 '17 at 21:41
9
How would you even consider this a "travel" question?
– Top Questions
Oct 26 '17 at 14:37
3
That looks an awful lot like the island from Lost.
– Harper
Oct 26 '17 at 16:51
9
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about travel.
– Michael Seifert
Oct 26 '17 at 17:52
2
I had forgotten where I put my submarine, thanks.
– Carl
Oct 26 '17 at 18:46