The lidless eyes of the satellites circle the Earth, looking down upon
the surface. The images that satellites like the U.S. Geological
Survey’s Landsat 7 become instant feedback about our effect on the
planet, how the Earth is shaped by processes both human and natural. But
as this collection of photos from an exhibition at the Library of
Congress in Washington shows, satellite image can be made into art as
well. Band combinations and shades in these Landsat images were
optimized to dramatize their appearance, to show off the colors and the
contrasts of the Earth. The result is breathtaking.
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ICELAND - This stretch of Iceland's northern coast resembles a tiger's
head complete with stripes of orange, black, and white. The tiger's
mouth is the great Eyjafjorour, a deep fjord that juts into the mainland
between steep mountains. The name means "island fjord," derived from
the tiny, tear-shaped Hrisey Island near its mouth. The ice-free port
city of Akureyri lies near the fjord's narrow tip, and is Iceland's
second largest population center after the capital, Reykjavik. |
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GREAT SALT DESSERT, IRAN - Like poster paints run wild, this image
reveals an eclectic montage of landscapes in Iran's largest desert, the
Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert. The word kavir is Persian for salt
marsh. The almost uninhabited region covers an area of more than 77,000
square kilometers (29,730 square miles) and is a mix of dry streambeds,
desert plateaus, mudflats, and salt marshes. Extreme heat, dramatic
daily temperature swings, and violent storms are the norm in this
inhospitable place. |
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MALASPINA GLACIER- The tongue of the Malaspina Glacier, the largest
glacier in Alaska, fills most of this image. The Malaspina lies west of
Yakutat Bay and covers 1,500 sq mi. |
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COLMINA VOLCANO, MEXICO - Snow-capped Colima Volcano, the most active
volcano in Mexico, rises abruptly from the surrounding landscape in the
state of Jalisco. Colima is actually a melding of two volcanoes, the
older Nevado de Colima to the north and the younger, historically active
Volcan de Colima to the south. Legend has it that gods sit atop the
volcano on thrones of fire and ice. |
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YUKON, CANAD - After beginning in northern British Columbia and flowing
through Yukon in Canada, the Yukon River crosses Alaska, USA, before
emptying into the Bering Sea. Countless lakes, sloughs, and ponds are
scattered throughout this scene of the Yukon Delta. The river's sinuous,
branching waterways seem like blood vessels branching out to enclose an
organ. It is one of the largest river deltas in the world, and
currently (2010) protected as part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife
Refuge. |
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LENA RIVER, RUSSIA - The Lena River, some 2,800 miles(4,500km) long, is
one of the largest rivers in the world. The Lena Delta Reserve is the
most extensive protected wilderness area in Russia. It is an important
refuge and breeding grounds for many species of Siberian wildlife. |
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SYRIA DESSERT - Between the fertile Euphrates River valley and the
cultivated lands of the eastern Mediterranean coast, the Syrian Desert
covers parts of modern Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. |
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FLORIDA EVERGLADES - The Florida Everglades the southern tip of the
Florida Peninsula and most of Florida Bay, Everglades National Park is
the only subtropical preserve in North America. It is the only place in
the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. |
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GANGES RIVER, INDIA - The Ganges River forms an extensive delta where it
empties into the Bay of Bengal. The delta is largely covered with a
swamp forest known as the Sunderbans, which is home to the Royal Bengal
Tiger. |
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LAKE DISSAPOINTMENT, AUSTRALIA - Surrounded by sand dunes, Lake
Disappointment is an ephemeral salt lake in one of the most remote areas
of Western Australia. An early explorer supposedly named the lake in
1897 after following a number of creeks that he thought would lead to a
large lake; they did, but the lake's extremely salty water was not
drinkable. |
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NIGER RIVER, MALI - Coursing through parched, landlocked Mali in Western
Africa, the Niger River flows north through an ancient sand sea before
turning sharply east to skirt the edge of the dune-striped Sahara. At
the confluence of the Bani and Niger Rivers is an island delta complete
with narrows, twisting waterways, lagoons, and tiny islands. |
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DHOFAR, OMAN - Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the
Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal
region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months.
Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates
the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior,
recharging streams, waterfalls, and springs that provide plentiful water
supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. |
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NETHERLANDS - Along the southern coast of the Netherlands,
sediment-laden rivers have created a massive delta of islands and
waterways in the gaps between coastal dunes. After unusually severe
spring tides devastated this region in 1953, the Dutch built an
elaborate system of dikes, canals, dams, bridges, and locks to hold back
the North Sea. |
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USGS / NASA
DEFORESTATION,
BOLIVIA - Once a vast carpet of healthy vegetation, the Amazon rain
forest is changing rapidly. This image of Bolivia shows dramatic
deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Loggers have cut long paths into the
forest, while ranchers have cleared large blocks for their herds.
Fanning out from these clear-cut areas are settlements built in radial
arrangements of fields and farms. Healthy vegetation appears bright red
in this image.
|
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GARDEN CITY, KANSAS - In Garden City, Kansas, center pivot irrigation
systems created these circular patterns in crop land. The red circles
indicate irrigated crops of healthy vegetation. The light-colored
circles represent harvested crops. |
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ROCKY MOUNTAINS - What appears to be a stroke of thick red paint is
actually a remarkable interplay of light and cloud in the Canadian
Rockies. Angling through them is part of the Rocky Mountain Trench, a
valley that extends from Montana, USA, to just south of the Yukon
Territory. Low clouds filled a part of the Trench near the border
between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The
light-reflecting nature of the clouds coupled with low sun elevation
resulted in this startling effect. |
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MAYN RIVER, RUSSIA - The Mayn River, seen here with what is thought to
be a portion of the Anadyr River, flows through the far northeastern
corner of Siberia. |
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MISSISSIPPI RIVER -Turbid waters spill out into the Gulf of Mexico where
their suspended sediment is deposited to form the Mississippi River
Delta. Like the webbing on a duck's foot, marshes and mudflats prevail
between the shipping channels that have been cut into the delta. |
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BALTIC SEA - In the style of Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night," massive
congregations of greenish phytoplankton swirl in the dark water around
Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. Phytoplankton are
microscopic marine plants that form the first link in nearly all ocean
food chains. Population explosions, or blooms, of phytoplankton, like
the one shown here, occur when deep currents bring nutrients up to
sunlit surface waters, fueling the growth and reproduction of these tiny
plants. |
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GUINEA-BISSAU is a small country in West Africa. Complex patterns can be
seen in the shallow waters along its coastline, where silt carried by
the Geba and other rivers washes out into the Atlantic Ocean.
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#picture credit:
USGA / NASA
#thankfully shared from: science.time.com
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