Stuck in Your House Today? Why Not Go Treasure Hunting on Google Satellite Maps?
Okay, you’re spending the day sequestering at home. Maybe your kids are there with you and you are looking for a fun, different project you can do online.
If you’re looking for adventure, we have a suggestion for you . . .
Why not go treasure hunting by using Google Maps?
The kids will love it, and you might identify some promising areas to go hunting for precious metals
Over the years, the Google Maps team has been working hard to add more and more locations to Google Maps. The result of their work has been a more useful functionality in the Street View mode when using Google Maps. Chances are you have used this feature. When you are searching for a street address on Google Maps, for example, you can switch to Street View and virtually travel the street in question, while looking at realistic images of the houses that are located on it. It’s great, fun, and very useful.
But Google hasn’t stopped there. It has been using satellite views to expand the concept of Street View and make it Google Maps Satellite. You can think of it as a more powerful version of the Street View function in Google Maps. Google Maps Satellite doesn’t limit your explorations to the streets where people live. Using it, you can fly virtually over open fields, forests, and parks.
And you know what that means. As you fly over those open spaces, you can be on the lookout for good places to take your metal detector, or just your shovel, and prospect for hidden precious metals.
Two Ways to Use Google Satellite to Explore Land
You can simply use Google Maps, pick an area, and switch to Satellite Mode. That will allow you to view overhead satellite images. It’s a great way to explore the parks and open areas in your own town or neighborhood. Or if you prefer, you can go directly to Google Satellite Maps on your computer or phone and enter the GPS coordinates of the area you would like to view. You can virtually fly nearly anywhere you like on Earth.
Incidentally, we recommend using your computer rather than your smartphone if you go exploring on Google Satellite Maps. You can fly virtually high overhead, and then zoom close down to an area to explore it more carefully. It is a great virtual experience.
As we have noted before on this blog, open areas are good places to go looking for locations where precious metals have been hidden or lost. We have written about exploring these areas by using a camera-equipped drone. But you can use Google Satellite Maps too, and you can go looking for:
Old building sites and foundations, which are often good places to look for gold, silver, coins and other precious items that were left behind when old buildings were destroyed or lost to fire.
Old walls around cemeteries and churchyards, where coins, watches and other valuables might have been lost in years gone by.
Old wells, where valuables might have fallen, or been hidden.
Mounds and low areas of earth, which could be sites where valuables and treasures were hidden. They might even be burial sites. (If you think you have found one of those, contact local authorities instead of digging.)
Sunken boats in rivers and lakes, which might contain valuables. Yes, if they are in shallow water, you can see them using Google Satellite Maps.
And When You Identify an Area to Explore . . .
Whether you find an area to explore that is located in a park or on publicly owned lands, still be sure to speak with appropriate authorities in your town, county, state – or even in the National Park Service and find out about getting permission to dig. And of course, if you find a promising area that is located on a farm or other tract of privately owned land, find out who the owner is and request permission.
If you do find valuables – coins, lost jewelry, even buried treasure – and you are not sure about the precious metals they contain, remember that our testing services are available to you. We can test your gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap and other discoveries and issue you a report of what they contain and what they are worth.
Treasure hunting from your desk is exciting! It is a prospecting strategy that can get everyone in your family involved in a great activity. And when you dig precious metals up and want to know more about what they are worth and how to sell them, give our consultants a call at 800-426-2344.