Update on March 23, 2026: This Landsat 8 image shows folded limestone in Ireland's Burren region. Congratulations to Mark for being the first reader to name the location at 5:44 p.m. on March 11, 2026. Special mentions go to Dziban, Yanira, David, and Chris for their thoughtful and interesting replies. Read more about the area in our Image of the Day story "A Bit of Gray on an Emerald Isle." Thank you your many submissions, and please read on below for more from the winners!
---------------------------------------------------
The Burren, County Clare... well-known limestone karst limestone pavements. The coastal crofting farm strips take us straight to N/NW Europe.
– Mark on 3/11 at 5:44 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------
This is Burren National Park in County Clare, Ireland. It's interesting because it appears to be a depositional limestone block and it's been heavily scoured by glaciation; pluvial weathering has left the karst chopped into clint-and-gryke terrain.
–Dziban on 3/11 at 6:19 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------
¡Qué tremendo desafío! La imagen corresponde a las icónicas terrazas de piedra caliza de Slieve Rua, ubicadas en el Parque Nacional El Burren, Condado de Clare, Irlanda.
Para los que nos apasiona la geomática, es fascinante observar este nivel de detalle. Esta captura parece provenir del instrumento MSI (Multi-Spectral Instrument) a bordo del satélite Sentinel-2. Probablemente se utilizó una combinación de bandas en Color Natural (TCI) o quizás un realce con la Banda 8 (NIR) para resaltar la sutil vegetación que crece en los grykes (grietas), contrastando con el gris espectral del pavimento kárstico.
Lo que más me llama la atención desde la geología es la disposición estratigráfica casi horizontal de estas calizas carboníferas. Es un paisaje que parece una verdadera maqueta de curvas de nivel naturales, una joya para cualquier análisis geomorfológico. ¡Un lugar que tengo que conocer!
What a tremendous challenge! The image shows the iconic limestone terraces of Slieve Rua, located in The Burren National Park, County Clare, Ireland. For those of us passionate about geomatics, this level of detail is fascinating. This image appears to have been captured by the Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) aboard the Sentinel-2 satellite. A combination of Natural Color Instrument (TCI) bands was likely used, or perhaps enhancement with Band 8 (NIR) to highlight the subtle vegetation growing in the grykes (cracks), contrasting with the spectral gray of the karst pavement. What strikes me most from a geological perspective is the almost horizontal stratigraphic arrangement of these Carboniferous limestones. It's a landscape that resembles a true model of natural contour lines, a gem for any geomorphological analysis. A place I absolutely must visit!
– Yanira on 3/11 at 10:10 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------
The puzzler for Mar 10 is: The Burren in Ireland. I was completely unaware of its existence until my wife (now ex-wife) & I took a bus tour of Ireland in 1992. I was completely shocked by the site, which was so absolutely contrary to everything I suspected from "The Emerald Isle" -- too much barren, rocky ground with relatively sparse vegetation. I remember the tour guide telling us that there were a great many species that existed in the Burren and nowhere else in the world. It certainly was not the prettiest land I saw while in Ireland, but it is among the most memorable because it was so surprising.
– David on 3/13 at 1:23 a.m.
---------------------------------------------------
Ooh, I've never managed to solve one of these before!
First Clue: Shadows! The image clearly shows a coastline with white stone near blue water (the green plants hint that the white substance isn't ice or snow). The clue was the shadows: the dark portions near the top of the image hint at a shaded, north-facing stone cliff near some blue water. The angle of the light hints that this isn't at a tropical latitude. So, I looked for a north-facing cliff made of white stone along a coast in a temperate region of the northern hemisphere.
Second Clue: March! In truth, I wouldn't have found this cliff if not for the second clue: this puzzle was posted near Saint Patrick's Day! So, I looked at north-facing cliffs of white stone in Ireland. Bingo -- the south shore of Galway Bay!
This Irish region is nicknamed "the Burren," and features a huge expanse of exposed limestone (called a "karst region"). The geology of the Burren makes the region famous for its cliffs, caves, rock-climbing features, unique wildlife, and ancient ruins.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
–Chris on 3/14 at 9:21 p.m.
---------------------------------------------------
Every month, NASA Earth Observatory features a puzzling satellite image. The March 2026 puzzler appears above.
Your Challenge
Identify the location shown in this satellite image. Share what clues you see, where you think it is, and what makes this place interesting or unique to you.
How to Answer
Submit your response using this form and select “Puzzler Answer” as the topic. Please include your preferred name or alias.
You can keep it simple and just guess the location. Want to impress us? Tell us which satellite and instrument captured the image, which spectral bands were used, or point out a subtle detail about the geology or history of the area. If something catches your eye, or if this is your home or means something to you, we’d love to hear about it.
The Prize
We can’t offer prize money or a trip to space to see Earth like satellites and astronauts do. But we can offer something almost as rewarding: puzzler bragging rights.
Within a week of the challenge, we’ll post the answer at the top of this page, along with a link to an Earth Observatory Image of the Day story that explains the image in more detail. We’ll give a shout-out to the first person who correctly guesses the location, and we may also highlight readers who share especially thoughtful or interesting answers on our blog.
Until then, zoom in, look closely, and enjoy the challenge. See you at the reveal!