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Well, the first Google Earth Treasure Hunt I posted here was solved in less than a day. Let's see how long it takes for this one to be solved. I originally posted this on my CodeAWeek blog. (Link in my profile.)

Imagine that I’ve locked away ten million dollars in a high security vault. The vault is protected by a digital keypad. The correct combination is comprised of decimal latitude and longitude coordinates, accurate to two decimal points. To unlock my vault, you must identify four places in the world and correctly enter their coordinates. For example, if one of the places is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the full coordinates would be: 29.978763°, 31.134297°. We don’t need to be THAT precise, so we round to two decimal points to get: 29.98°, 31.13°. That’s the format I’m looking for when you submit your answer

To get Google Earth to show decimal values instead of degrees/minutes/seconds, click Tools, then Options. Under the tab called “3D View,” under the heading “Show Lat/Long,” check “Decimal Degrees.”

Here are clues to the four locations. Can you figure out where I’m talking about?

  1. Here, a babirusa lies in wait, as it has done for the last 40,000 years. It is the oldest of its kind in the world (that we know of as of this writing).

  2. In this wondrous museum that isn’t in England, Germany, or the United States, you can hear violins, drums, flutes, pipes, whistles, bells, chimes, pianos, xylophones, and even full orchestras. You can see the instruments being played, but you won’t find people doing the playing.

  3. General Sherman may be the largest of his kind, but who has the farthest reach? Outward, not upward. (When I say "kind," I'm speaking generally. I don't mean his specific species.)

  4. This (sort of) cave trail is home to the fairies, located within a tourist attraction in the United States that is advertised for hundreds of miles as the place you simply must SEE.

The winner is the first person to answer with all four correct coordinates, numbered 1 through 4.

To ensure that you get the exact coordinates, pull them from the Google Earth pin of the place. In the above pyramid example, you would find the “Great Pyramid of Giza” pin and use that exact location’s coordinates.

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    $\begingroup$ I especially look forward to seeing the answer to #3, Three very different candidates leap to mind, depending on how close to or far from General Sherman's exact kind is acceptable. $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 3:41
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    $\begingroup$ The general kind, not the specific species. I will update the clue. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 4:47
  • $\begingroup$ Hi, Toby. Please take a look at this question on the Puzzling "meta" site and dial back the promotion of your site a bit. The recommended thing would be to put a link in your profile. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 8:00
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks, @GarethMcCaughan. I read through your link and updated the post. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 15:07
  • $\begingroup$ Should probably put the green check on Humn's answer. I only did 1 of the 4! $\endgroup$
    – Irishpanda
    Commented Sep 20, 2017 at 12:32

2 Answers 2

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Now complete, thanks to Gareth McCaughan and Irishpanda.

  1. Here, a babirusa lies in wait, as it has done for the last 40,000 years. It is the oldest of its kind in the world (that we know of as of this writing).

    -5.00° (S), 119.69° (E)

    A cave in South Sulawesi, Indonesia contains 40,000 year old art that is thought to depict a babirusa. This was found via a museum web page that boasts a babirusa skull.

  2. In this wondrous museum that isn’t in England, Germany, or the United States, you can hear violins, drums, flutes, pipes, whistles, bells, chimes, pianos, xylophones, and even full orchestras. You can see the instruments being played, but you won’t find people doing the playing.

    52.09° (N), 5.12° (E)

    Museum Speelklok in Utrecht, Netherlands plays instruments robotically. This was found with a web search for “museum musical instrument robot.”

  3. General Sherman may be the largest of his kind, but who has the farthest reach? (Outward, not upward.)

    Revised revised answer (Thank you, Gareth McCaughan)

    14.03° (N), 78.32° (E)

    Thimmamma Marrimanu is a banyan tree in Andhra Pradesh, India, whose canopy’s coverage, equivalent to a circle 256 feet or 78 meters in radius, is reputed to be the broadest of any single-trunk tree in the world. General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree in California, USA.

    Previous answer (not reachy enough)

    -24.96° (S), 140.37° (E)

    Monkira Monster is a tree in Queensland, Australia, with a crown width of 239 feet or 73 meters. This was found with a web search for “widest tree.’

    Initial answer

    (Disqualified for being a clonal colony.)

    38.53° (N), -111.77° (W)

    The Trembling Giant is a quaking aspen “tree” in Utah, USA, that spans the equivalent of a circle 1,214 feet or 370 meters in radius. It looks like a stand of various trees but is really a collection of shoots from a single-organism root system. This was once featured on a television show.

    I’ve also heard of mycelia (mushroom “roots”) and desert shrub root systems that are single organisms and can span very broad areas underground with very little presence aboveground.

  4. This (sort of) cave trail is home to the fairies, located within a tourist attraction in the United States that is advertised for hundreds of miles as the place you simply must SEE.

    Copied(with permission) revised answer   ( SEE and thank Irishpanda’s solution )

    34.97° (N), -85.35° (W)

    Fairyland Caverns in Georgia, USA.

    Related: 34.3456°, -84.7194° and 34.3405°, -85.7037°.

    Initial answer (neglected the “SEE” clue)

    39.55° (N), -107.33° (W)

    Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, in Colorado, USA, as reported by a web search for “cave trail fairy shrimp,” just happens to host nothing less than a a Historic Fairy Caves Tour. You simply must see all those historic fairies!

Thank you for another globe-trotting puzzle, Tony Youngblood! Where to next?

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    $\begingroup$ @humn, you got two right, 1 and 2! As to number 3, this answer actually works but it's not the one I was thinking of. Look for something that isn't a clonal colony. And as to number 4, nice answer, but not what I had in mind. The "SEE" clue is significant. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 6:18
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    $\begingroup$ Perhaps #3 is meant to be en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thimmamma_Marrimanu ? $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 15:19
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    $\begingroup$ For the SEE clue, has none of you ever driven through the Smoky Mountains? There are two features to be found there, that have billboards touting them for quite some ways.... $\endgroup$
    – Irishpanda
    Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 18:18
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    $\begingroup$ @Irishpanda, now that I take a closer look at your hint (and a map ;-) ), I should say that the place I'm thinking isn't in the Smokey Mountains (although it IS on a mountain), but it is within a 3 hour drive of them. There are probably roadside advertisements for this place in the Smokys if you keep a lookout for them. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 16:01
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    $\begingroup$ I know exactly the place you mean, but the ads for the place are definitely seen through the Smoky Mts. Some in very precarious places! I'll post my answer for that one later, when I have access to Chrome...I can't get to google earth from work, and my phone is being a right ass at the moment. $\endgroup$
    – Irishpanda
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 16:06
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Per comments on the above answer, here is #4. Made an answer so I can spoiler parts, feel free to add to the main answer above!

  1. This (sort of) cave trail is home to the fairies, located within a tourist attraction in the United States that is advertised for hundreds of miles as the place you simply must SEE.

Anyone that's had to road trip through the American South should be familiar with these guys:


See Rock City
Also See Rock City


There are many variants and they are EVERYWHERE as you pass through

the Smoky Mountains

They lead you to

Lookout Mountain in Rock City, GA.

The specific feature here is

FAIRYLAND
The entrance to FAIRYLAND CAVERNS, coords 34.97 (N), -85.35 (W)
They are a part of the Rock City cavern complex, decorated with a number blacklight responsive sculptures of fairytale figures.

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  • $\begingroup$ Looks better than Disneyland, that's it, I'm hopping a ride, SEE you (and 7 states) there! $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 17:09
  • $\begingroup$ No problem. I only used the link to keep it under spoilers, as the barn images are a dead giveaway. $\endgroup$
    – Irishpanda
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 18:43
  • $\begingroup$ And now I figure out how to do it properly. I hate spoiler markdown so much >_< $\endgroup$
    – Irishpanda
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 18:49
  • $\begingroup$ Markdown hasn't yet fully solved the spoiler puzzle, one of the most difficult on this site, but now you have, "beautiful"ly! $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 18:50
  • $\begingroup$ You got it!!! I say it's sort of underground because Fairyland Caverns aren't really caverns. They are in-between two big rocks pressed against each other. Rock City can be a bit cheesy but it's the most beautiful kind of cheese. Ruby Falls and Incline Railway are two more must-sees in Chattanooga. Plus the Tennessee Aquarium. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 19, 2017 at 18:57

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