A Long Time Ago: Every Star Wars Filming Location

38 years ago in a galaxy close, close to our own… In fact, it was within our galaxy that Star Wars was originally released on May 25, 1977. While “May the 4th” has become known as “Star Wars Day,” it’s later in this month that the real fans celebrate. With a set of new films set to release later this year, now is a good time to look back at some of the real life places that became the fictional places in that “galaxy far, far away.”

View Star Wars Filming Locations in a full screen map

The map above shows significant filming locations that were outside of studios, from the forest of Endor to the sand of Tatooine. Due to special effects, much of the Star Wars series has been filmed in sound studios. The three sequels will call Pinewood Studios, just north of London, home. Previously, most Star Wars films had studio work done at Esltree Studios, also in England.

One of the better-known locations is Tunisia, which has been home to the desert planet of Tatooine in episodes I, II, and IV. Episode VII will break tradition, as Abu Dhabi replaces Tunisia for Tattooine. The only other place to represent Tatooine was Death Valley, California, used only in the original movie and Return of the Jedi.

Casual fans may have trouble remembering the progression of Star Wars movies. The original movie was retroactively named Episode IV. In the 2000s, Lucasfilm released the much-anticipated prequel trilogy. Here’s the chronological order of the six films, along with the year they were first in theaters.

  • Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
  • Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
  • Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  • Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
  • Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

The most geographically diverse location has to be Naboo. The picturesque planet has been portrayed by Spain, UK, and multiple areas in Italy.

Like most films, Star Wars did some filming in California. However, it got outside of typical Los Angeles for its other-worldly settings: the desert of Death Valley and the Redwood Forest join the Yuma Desert as the only US locations.

Of course, the best of Hollywood frequently films outside of SoCal, as we discovered when looking at the filming locations of Oscar Best Pictures.

BatchGeo Translations Hit the Map in 148 Countries

The footer on our web pages is growing. Recently we’ve added translations for BatchGeo and currently support 10 languages. Russian, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Portuguese, and Korean are the newest language translations we have available, joining English, French, Dutch, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Our powerful batch geocoding and map-making service is now accessible to the billions of people speaking those languages. And because it wouldn’t be BatchGeo without showing you a map, we’ve plotted every country where one of these 10 tongues is an official language.

View Countries Speaking BatchGeo Languages in a full screen map

The 10 languages of BatchGeo cover 148 countries and six continents. And that’s just official languages. We didn’t include the dozens of countries where English, French, German, Spanish, and others are spoken by significant portions of the population.

Nearly half of those countries are covered by our flagship site, which you know from this blog post is written in English. French is the next most common, officially spoken in 29 countries. 21 of those French-speaking countries are in Africa, a product of France’s colonization in the mid-1800s. Similarly, the English, Portuguese, and Dutch are from Britain, Portugal, and Holland’s own colonial efforts on that continent.

The same can be seen in South and Central America with Spanish speaking countries. Indeed, Spanish comes in third-most common with 21 countries represented.

Portuguese and Dutch are next, with 10 and nine countries, respectively. These two are spread far and wide given the fewer countries represented. Each is the official language of one of more country in Europe, South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Other languages are more regional. Russian is spoken in some eastern European countries. Mandarin and Korean are each spoken in multiple Asian countries.

Four countries officially speak two or more of the 10 BatchGeo languages. Belgium recognizes Dutch, French, and German. Equatorial Guinea also has three, with French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Switzerland and Luxemborg border both France and Germany, so each have selected both as official languages.

By looking at the map, you can surely see how much of the globe is covered when it comes to batch geocoding in their native tongue. If you happen to speak Japanese, Dutch, French, German, or Spanish, be sure to view the videos, which have also been translated. Now that you’ve read down to the bottom, select your favorite language from the footer to get started.

Every NASCAR Crash Fatality Mapped

It’s been 15 years since fourth-generation racer Adam Petty died during a practice session for the Busch 200. While there were two fatal crashes that year, there are relatively few fatal crashes for a sport that can see speeds cross over 200 miles per hour. The map below shows all fatalities during practice or competition since NASCAR started in 1948. You can group by year, event, circuit, series, and the activity during the crash (such as qualifying or practice).

View NASCAR Fatal Crashes in a full screen map

Adam Petty was the son of Kyle Petty, grandson Richard Petty, and great-grandson of NASCAR pioneer Lee Petty. The youngest Petty was just 19 when he died at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. That circuit, or race track, suffered one other fatality, later in 2000 when Kenny Irwin, Jr., crashed at the same turn as Petty had earlier. Both men suffered a basilar skull fracture. Other than Irwin and Petty, no other racer has died at this circuit.

Daytona International Speedway has seen the most fatal crashes. Famous for the Daytona 500, the circuit also hosts many other events, the most likely reason 14 drivers have lost their lives there. The first was in 1961, the most recent was Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500.

NASCAR as a whole has not had a driving death since 2009, which puts it at over half a decade. The sport has become undeniably safer. The 1950s saw 17 fatalities, and there were 10 in the 1960s. The 1970s saw a dip, with only six, but the 1980s are the second-most dangerous decade with 14 fatal crashes. There were 11 in the 1990s and nine in the 2000s.

The most fatal year was 1956, with five deaths.

The most common time for a fatal crash, unsurprisingly, is during a race. Over half of all fatalities (46) have come during competition, when the track is often crowded and the event is on the line. Practice (11) and Qualifying (8) come next. Only three drivers have died during testing, two in the 60s.

Of course, driving fast is a risky business, but also one increasingly focused on safety. To prevent basilar skull fracture, NASCAR and other motor sports now require drivers to wear head and neck restraints. With luck and further innovations, perhaps there will be very few additional drivers added to this map.