favorite wikipedia image finds


An unusually tall Joshua Tree (about 45 feet).
i stared at this image for a while when i stumbled upon it because that is truly an outrageously tall joshua tree... not sure it can really be appreciated by those who haven't been to joshua tree national park and seen all the groves where the joshua trees all seem to grow to roughly the same height of 15-20 feet... well, i guess there are some normal joshua trees in the image too
PEI Confederation Bridge during winter with an icy Northumberland Strait
the design of confederation bridge is quite unique, a response to the extreme conditions it must endure... its extended elevation on a series of regularly-spaced columns spanned by arches which give it an almost aqueductal air, the fusion of curves and low-poly angularity, the stark, rugged béton brut composition that makes it look like it will stand for centuries...
Runit Dome (or Cactus Dome), Runit Island, Enewetak Atoll. Aerial view. In 1977-1980 the crater created by the Cactus shot of Operation Hardtack I was used as a burial pit to inter 84,000 cubic meters of radioactive soil scraped from the various contaminated Enewetak Atoll islands. The Runit Dome was built to cover the material.
it's always crazy to me that there were a couple decades there when the remote south pacific was crawling with tens of thousands of cornfed american boys driving jeeps around and blowing shit up big-time. then they built this giant concrete disc and disappeared...

honorary mention: Leaking Agent Orange Barrels in storage at Johnston Atoll, circa 1973
Ontario Highway 401, the busiest highway in North America, was closed during the 2008 Toronto Propane Explosion. In this rare photograph, only one vehicle is seen driving on its typically crowded collector / express system.
canadians love to act haughty about their enlightened euro ways like using the metric system or having single-payer healthcare, but one thing you don't see them brag about so much is how they also have the world's widest and busiest highway
Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place located in the Mojave Desert of western San Bernardino County, California.
living someplace like here is probably the closest you can get to fallout: new vegas irl... no costly nukings required
The Tree of Ténéré was a solitary acacia that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth. The tree is estimated to have existed for approximately 300 years until it was knocked down in 1973 by an allegedly drunk Libyan truck driver.
A Waffle House mostly reduced to rubble in Biloxi, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005
amusingly, this is the lead image on the waffle house index wiki page... i would hazard a guess that the waffle house in the image is closed, but you never know...
Park Bridge at Kicking Horse Pass, British Columbia
i passed under this striking bridge on a rafting trip and looked it up immediately afterwards, the image on wikipedia did not disappoint... when done tastefully, i think a big build like this can actually augment natural beauty
New Orleans, September 20, 2005 - The eastern sections of the I-10 Causeway are battered, displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
this bridge is over lake pontchartrain, what a name...
DEC PDP-8/e minicomputer front panel switches
there are quite a few around here who'd agree with me when i say that computer aesthetics peaked a long time ago... those jive turkeys probably have the nineties or noughties in mind, whereas i'm referring to the SEVENTIES... groovy!