Tifton loamy sand is the State Soil of Georgia. It is found on the Coastal Plain and supports much of the region's agriculture, including almost all of the cultivated land around Sale City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tifton_(soil) http://www.mo15.nrcs.usda.gov/news/state_soils/ga_ss.html Join discussion...

Set in the summer of 1958 (but filmed in the winter of 1975), "Return to Macon County" teamed Nick Nolte and Don Johnson for hot-rod antics around the Georgia Piedmont towns of Juliette, Forsyth and Barnesville. Here is a crossroads which was surely scouted if not used. Join discussion...

In the spring of 1968 an Auburn University botanist named John D. Freeman (1941-1997) identified a new species of Trillium in the wooded bluff below the Tenneco Oil Depot (notice the tanks behind the trees on top) near Hilton, Georgia. This species, Trillium decipiens, has since been propagated in cultivation and is gradually becoming more widely seen in collectors' gardens, although its distribution remains very local. These woods are also home to one of the southernmost populations of Trillium catesbaei. http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/Images/catesbaei4.jpg http://www.goldsword.com/sfarmer/Trillium/Images/Freeman/decipiens.jpg Join discussion...

Outdoor scenes of "The Giant Gila Monster" (1959) were filmed at the Cielo Ranch (which has since been subdivided). This place also hosted crews for two other movies: "The Killer Shrews" and "My Dog Buddy." Several episodes of the TV western "Have Gun, Will Travel" were shot here. See: http://www.spanishvisionfarm.com/horse_story_shady_shores.htm Join discussion...

The Google car passed a pair of horses in Whitsett, which was one of several southern Texas locations for the horror movie "The Wild Man of the Navidad." This part of Texas has one of the warmest climates which can still provide a "dead of winter" look. The trees here are mostly mesquite. Join discussion...

In southwestern Oregon and adjacent northern California there are large areas of rock which was thrust up from Earth's mantle. This rock contains lots of magnesium and some iron (hence the term ultramafic), but lacks other nutrients common in Earth's crust -- calcium, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, the mantle rock contains toxic amounts of chromium and nickel. Consequently, the vegetation is much sparser than one would expect from the mild climate and average yearly rainfall of 60 inches. Around Cave Junction, tall dense stands of mixed forest with Douglas-fir, bull pine and many other large species grow on non-ultramafic soils. But the ultramafic landscape shown here supports only scrub vegetation with scattered Jeffrey pine. Join discussion...

In the winter of 1975 a B-movie director named Jack Starrett collected several established actors (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Lara Parker, Loretta Swit, R.G. Armstrong) and a good number of stunt drivers to make "Race with the Devil." This scene, just outside Bandera, is typical of the countryside where the movie was shot. Join discussion...

This is a typical middle-class streetscape in far southern Texas during winter. Although McAllen has the same elevation and latitude as parts of southern Florida, its flora is not quite as subtropical. The drier climate, harder frosts and alkaline soils of South Texas exclude many of the evergreen plants which thrive in Florida (a typical street in that state is overwhelmingly dominated by evergreens). Common deciduous trees in far southern Texas include the ash, elm, mesquite and sugarberry. Despite the occasional hard freeze, gardeners in McAllen raise some subtropical plants including bouganvillea, citrus fruit, Norfolk Island Pine (the conifer visible here) and palms. Join discussion...

A scene where actors Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, and Michael Sacks take out fried chicken from Dymbala's was filmed at the present-day Eagle Express site in Pleasanton, Texas. Join discussion...

This replica of the Pursuit Special driven by Mel Gibson in the first two "Mad Max" movies is usually parked in front of the Silverton Hotel. Part of "Mad Max 2" was filmed near Silverton in the winter of 1981. Other props from that movie can still be found in the town. Join discussion...