Where on Earth? - May 2009

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Cyril Galvin

Clues for May 2009:

1. This house is the last standing on this island, which used to support an entire election district of fishermen until it was abandoned around 1920 due to beach erosion.

2. The island is named after a European country, which ironically also struggles against encroachment from the sea (albeit much more successfully).

3. Other islands in this region are also losing ground. A more famous island neighbor has lost 1,300 hectares of wetlands in the last 150 years, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Name the island and its location.

Scroll down for the answer

Answer: This is the last standing house on Holland Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The island, which once had its own election district in Maryland, was abandoned in about 1920 because of beach erosion. Other islands in the region are also losing ground, including Smith Island, which has lost 1,300 hectares in the last 150 years, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Photo by Cyril Galvin.

May winners
Douglas Albach (Reva, Va.)
Melissa Borden (San Clemente, Calif.)
R.J. Gauthier-Warinner (Interlochen,
Gail G. Gibson (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Enid Karr (Concord, Mass.)
Lloyd Litwin (Saskatoon, Canada)
Rebecca Price (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Chris Reed (Ballston Spa, N.Y.)
Ted Smith (Citrus Heights, Calif.)
Brett Wyckoff (Elk Grove, Calif.)

To submit your photographs to our Where on Earth? contest, send them via e-mail to
earth@earthmagazine.org.