16 replies to this topic

[Adam Wilbert]

This image is installed with OSX Snow Leopard as one of the desktop background selections. I think it's stunning and was wondering if anyone could identify the range. The image is called "cirques.jpg" but thats just a generic term for the glacial formations, so not very helpful. Any ideas?

 Cirques.jpg   174.84K   247 downloads

[frax]

Have you checked the metadata embedded in the file?

[DaveB]

Very cool. Is that a real place?

[Hans van der Maarel]

Very cool. Is that a real place?

Hard to say. Terrain visualisation software is very very very good these days, especially if you put it in the hands of a professional. It could be a real photo, it could be a rendering (as far as I can determine from a fairly small image).

Hmm... I just ordered my Snow Leopard upgrades... Usually I have one of my own photos that I use as a background, but I may just have to make an exception for this one

[frax]

Reminds me of the fake mountains I played with in Terragen at one point (10 years ago).

[Aclypson]

Because of the theme the images have (Snow Leopard) I would guess somewhere in central asia

[Robert2009]

It sure looks like a real place but more likely a fake since if someone were up there could have been in a steep site.

[Adam Wilbert]

It certainly looks real to me, there is a ton of detail in the glacier crevasses etc. on the full resolution version (too big to post here!) I'm thinking it was taken from a helicopter. There is nothing in the metadata however. At this point i'm on the verge of obsession, and have spent way too much time pondering where this might be!

[Mike Boruta]

Me too. I need to know. I was thinking the Karakoram Range or thereabouts, but cannot find any photos to match this one.

[frax]

I have an indication that it could be in the Southern Patagonian icefields, at the end of the Andes. I googled a bit and saw that Apple had used the stock photo library in the past, and they had some photos from this part, and the nature, rocks and amount of snow looks very similar to photos of the area around the Cerro Torre peak, for instance.

[frax]

Could also be around mt Fitze Roy, also in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina.

[mikeb226]

I think this may be it:

[open in google earth]

Attached Files

•  cirque.kmz   691bytes   75 downloads

[Malcolm RH]

I think this may be it:

[open in google earth]

My bet is the karakoram range. The scale of the Torres del Paine mountains is not as big as these peaks (hard to tell of course, but I'm guessing from the massive seracs and the fact that it appears the valley keeps going). Cerro Torre and others in that area are more 'toothy', and this photo is of a huge ridge. Plus this looks similar to some photos from a National Geographic climbing team that went to the Trango area. And Apple got their photos of leopards from national geographic as well...

I joined CartoTalk so I could learn and contribute something useful, but instead my first post is 'off topic'... Story of my life.

[Boundary Maven]

My sweetie does a LOT of planet rendering in 3D, and this sure looks like a render to me. It's a little too perfect to be real.

[Nicholas_C]

After lurking for a long time, I'm finally compelled to join so I can see the picture of this mysterious mountain range. Go figure.

Looks like a real picture to me. Just a little heavy-handed on the photoshop which gives it that rendered appearance.

Judging from the delectably climbable rock in the foreground, my guess is that it was taken by a climber. If the Karakoram and Patagonia have been ruled out then some other options for monolithic, glaciated granite are the French Alps (doesn't look familiar) and the Bugaboos (definitely not), and the Alaska Range.

My guess is the Ruth Gorge/Mooses Tooth area of the AK Range. Maybe taken from the Mooses Tooth, a relatively popular climb?