Bellingcat Challenge - Up The Creek
Table of Contents
Challenge Overview#
Source: Bellingcat Online Investigation Toolkit Difficulty: Beginner
This was part of Bellingcat’s “Natural Wonders” OSINT challenge. Presented with an image of a meandering river. WThe question to answer, “What is the river’s name?”
Tools & Techniques Used#
| Tool/Technique | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Google Lens | Initial reverse image search to find similar images |
| Google Earth Pro | Verifying location and matching building positions |
Investigation Process#
Step 1: Initial Analysis#
- Landmarks: A very defined farm at the bottom right, just above the first bend of the river
- Bridge: White bridge that crosses the river
I did a quick reverse image search with the whole image selected in Google Lens. But initial quick look were from walk-throughs of already completed geolocation. So I wanted to avoid them.
Step 2: Changed my approach with Reverse Image Search#
I thought that I would try Google Lens again but instead of using the entire image, I would focus on either of my 2 main landmarks. The bridge and the farm.
I cropped the image in Google Lens and started with the farm first.
Jackpot! There’s a WordPress website for a farm call Local Roots Farm with an arial image.
Step 3: Verifying through Google Earth#
I checked the website to find the location name. Then a searching for the name of the farm and location I did “fly-over” in Google Earth to get a similat perspective to the airial shot from the image. A little tweaking here and there, and I go myself into a very similar position, and had the exact same view. From there I could see the name of the river - Snoqualmie River.
CHALLENGE SOLVED
Findings#
Name of River: Snoqualmie River Coordinates: 47.7052, -121.9981 Confidence: High
Key Takeaways#
- Google Lens used right is magic if your image is of high enough quality then you can use different parts of it in Google Lens to get different contexts.
- Sometimes less tools are enough I could have just used Google Maps in the browser and still find the place. But, I like Google Earth, and to see it from the exact same perspective - as the given image - sometimes helps with verification.
- Don’t just go with the first results Sometimes you have just look at the image and get as much context and “clues” from it as possible, to assist you in your search.