Click image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © DigitalGlobe and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

IKONOS (0.8m) Satellite Image of Crop Art “Thank You For Freedom” Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska

Click image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

 IKONOS (0.8m) Satellite Image of Fritzler Corn Maze “Freedom Reigns” Colorado

Click image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

Click image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright© GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

This GeoEye-1 (0.5m) satellite image of  Eastern Algeria portion of the Sahara is an otherworldly place, a region of great diversity with endless stretches of sand dunes and rocky platforms that can reach more than 2,000 meters. The Tassili n’Ajjer “Plateau of the Rivers” National Park is a vast plateau in southeast Algeria at the borders of Libya, Niger, and Mali, covering 72,000 square kilometers.

The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers over 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 sq km) or roughly 10% of the continent.  People lived on the edge of the desert thousands of years ago since the last ice age. The Sahara was then a much wetter place than it is today. Over 30,000 petroglyphs of river animals such as crocodiles survive, with half found in the Tassili n’Ajjer in southeast Algeria. Fossils of dinosaurs have also been found here. The modern Sahara, though, is not lush in vegetation, except in the Nile Valley and in the northern highlands, where Mediterranean plants such as the olive tree are found to grow. The region has been this way since about 1600 BC, after shifts in the Earth’s axis increased temperatures and decreased precipitation. Then, due to a climate change, the savannah changed into the sandy desert as we know it now. Read more about the Sahara Desert.

Click on image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

This  satellite image shows the Atlantis Paradise Island resort and waterpark on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, located southeast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean. The image was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on July 11, 2009 while flying 423 miles above the Earth at an average speed of 17,000 mph.

The Bahamas is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). The Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain. Read more on Bahamas.

The Atlantis Paradise Island is a resort and waterpark located on Paradise Island, The Bahamas. Officially opened in 1998, the resort was created by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International Limited. Paradise Island first opened its Coral and Beach Towers as the Trump Plaza, then changed its name to Atlantis when the Royal Towers were built. The Coral and Beach Towers were later refurbished to match the theme of the Royal Towers. On 28 March 2007 a 600-suite luxury hotel named The Cove Atlantis opened on Paradise Island. Another tower, the 497-room Reef Atlantis, opened 19 December 2007. Read more on Atlantis Resort.

View 360 degree panoramic view of Bahamas Paradise Island (New Years Eve 2007), visit here.

© by davidcmc58

Click on image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright© DigitalGlobe and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved)

Pearl and Hermes Atoll part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. is a true atoll that is primarily underwater and has numerous islets, seven of which are above sea level. While total land area is only 0.36 square km (80 acres), the reef area is huge, over 450 square miles (194,000 acres). The atoll is ever-changing, with islets emerging and subsiding. QuickBird satellite image acquired on May 19, 2005.

The atoll was discovered by Westerners in 1822 when two English whaling ships, the Pearl and the Hermes, wrecked on the reef during a storm. Since then at least six other vessels have been lost in the area. In 1854, King Kamehameha III claimed the atoll for the Hawaiian Kingdom. Due to the atoll’s small land base, it was largely spared to the ravages of miners and feather hunters. Read more about the Pearl and Hermes Atoll….

Click on image to view in full resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved.)

GeoEye-1 (0.5m) satellite image (above) shows a portion of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 kilometer) long, up to 18 miles (29 kilometer) wide and over a mile (6,000 feet / 1,800 meters) deep.

Recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course and began carving out the steep-sided canyon at least 17 million years ago. The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge perched 4,000 feet above the canyon floor and on the edge of the Grand Canyon’s West rim. It attracts almost five million visitors each year and is separately owned by the Hualapai Nation.

The satellite image was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Sept. 3, 2010 while flying 423 miles above the Earth at an average speed of 17,000 mph. For more information on Grand Canyon  National Park, visit here.

To view a 360 degree panoramic view of Grand Canyon National Park, visit here.

Click on image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation)

GeoEye-1 satellite image shows ice fields near Adelaide Island (on the west) which is a large, mainly ice-covered island, 75 miles (121 km) long and 20 miles (32 km) wide, lying at the north side of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The island lies within the Argentine, British and Chilean Antarctic claims and is protected from commercial exploitation by the Antarctica Treaty implemented in 1959. Antarctica is perhaps the world’s greatest unspoiled and relatively unexplored wildernesses. About 98 percent of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness. According to news reports the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming spots on the planet.  This satellite image was collected from the GeoEye-1 satellite on April 18, 2012 while flying 423 miles (681 km) above the Earth at an average speed of 17,000 mph (four miles per second.)

QuickBird (0.6m) Satellite Image of Space Shuttle Discovery (2005)

Click image to view in full resolution.

(Copyright © DigitalGlobe and courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation)

Click image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation)

This half-meter resolution image shows the Pausilypon Archeological Site and the Seiano Grotto, located approximately 13 km (8.1 miles) west of Naples, Italy. These archaeological ruins include a remarkable amphitheater with 13 rows of seats in the top auditorium, six rows in the middle and an overall seating capacity of two thousand. The entire site has been permanently reopened to the public thanks to the recovery work being done by the Archaeological Sovrintendenza of Naples and Caserta and the contribution of the Commune of Naples. The GeoEye-1 satellite collected the image on April 9, 2012 while flying an average speed of 17,000 mph (four miles per second).

About Pausilypon Archeological Site and the Seiano Grotto

This ancient passageway, which was dug out about two thousand years ago and reinforced in the Bourbon period, snakes through the fascinating half-light of the tunnel and then is struck towards the end by the blinding light from side underground passages on the steep coves, which offer a breathtaking view.

Beyond the cavern, we take a path lined with typical Mediterranean vegetation and come to the area of the villa to which Vedio Pollione, a wealthy Roman knight to Ottaviano Agusto, gave a name of Greek derivation, “Pausylipon”, or “place which stops all the cares” in order to describe the spell and the beauty of this place called Posillipo.

The villa is adaptable to different circumstances, and was enlarged to satisfy the needs of an imperial residence whose full extent will be discovered only when the Archeological Sovrintendenza will complete the work with the final aim of opening this archeological site of Pausylipon to the public.

There are remarkable archaeological remains in this area – a theatre of splendid structure with 13 rows of seats in the top auditorium and 6 in the middle one, an overall seating capacity of two thousand which exploited the natural slope of the hill, in accordance with the typical technique of Greek amphitheaters. On the opposite side are the remains of the Odeion, the ancient roofed theater used for recitals of rhetorical poetry and musical performances, which has a small “cavea” or auditorium positioned in front of the large Theater.For more information, visit here.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image Escondida Mine, Chile

Click image to view in high resolution.

ASTER satellite image of  Escondida Cu-Au-Ag open-pit mine is at an elevation of 3050 meters, and came on stream in 1990. Current capacity is 127,000 tons/day of ore; in 1999 production totaled 827,000 tons of copper, 150,000 ounces of gold and 3.53 million ounces of silver. Primary concentration of the ore is done on-site; the concentrate is then sent to the coast for further processing through a 170 km long, 9 pipe. Escondida is related geologically to three porphyry bodies intruded along the Chilean West Fissure Fault System. A high grade supergene cap overlies primary sulfide ore. The above ASTER satellite image displays SWIR bands 4-6-8 in RGB, and highlights lithologic and alteration differences of surface units. Satellite image acquired on April 23, 2000.

GeoEye-1 (0.5m) Satellite Image Marcona Mine, Peru

Click on image to view in high resolution.

(Copyright © GeoEye and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation. All Rights Reserved.)

GeoEye-1 (0.5m) satellite image of Marcona, Peru was collected on August 23, 2009. The major industry in the Marcona District is the Marcona Mine, an open-pit iron mine. The mine was acquired in 1992 by Shougang Corporation a state owned Chinese corporation which does business locally as Shougang Hiero Peru.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image of Mine in Baiyun Ebo, Inner Mongolia, China

Click on image to view in high resolution.

ASTER (15m) satellite image of mine in Baiyun Ebo, Inner Mongolia, China is the site of almost half the world’s rare earth production. China is responsible for over 95% of global production of rare earth elements. These elements are critical ingredients in catalytic converters, cell phones, televisions, lasers, magnets, batteries, and other high-tech gizmos. China’s export restrictions have led the US, Japan and the European Union to complain to the World Trade Organization, claiming China was violating trade agreements. The US at one time was a leading producer of rare earths, but most of the mines have been closed. Recently, several US companies are in the process of attempting to re-open these mines and resume mining of rare earths. The ASTER satellite image was acquired on June 30, 2006.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image of Morenci Mine, Arizona

Click on image to view in high resolution.

The Morenci open-pit copper mine in southeast Arizona is North America’s leading producer of copper. In the 1860s, prospectors arrived looking for gold; instead they found copper. Underground mining began in the 1870s, and the first pit was opened in 1939. Phelps Dodge employs over 200 people in the mining and refining operations. Around-the-clock removal of 700,000 tons of rock per day results in production of 382 thousand tons of copper per year. Phelps Dodge is now developing the Safford Mine, about 12 km southwest of Morenci. It will be the first new copper mine in the US in more than 30 years. When production starts in 2008, the Safford Mine will produce 109 thousand tons of copper. This ASTER (15m) satellite image uses short wavelength infrared bands to highlight in bright pink the altered rocks in the Morenci pit associated with copper mineralization. The satellite image was acquired on July 14, 2007.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image of Kondyor Massif, Eastern Siberia, Russia

Click on image to view in high resolution.

This is neither an impact crater nor a volcano. It is a perfect circular intrusion, about 10 km in diameter with a topographic ridge up to 600 meter high. The Kondyor Massif is located in Eastern Siberia, Russia, north of the city of Khabarovsk. It is a rare form of igneous intrusion called alkaline-ultrabasic massif and it is full of rare minerals. The river flowing out of it forms placer mineral deposits. Last year 4 tons of platinum were mined there. A remarkable and very unusual mineralogical feature of the deposit is the presence of coarse crystals of Pt-Fe alloy, coated with gold. This 3-D perspective view was created by draping a simulated natural color ASTER (15m) composite over an ASTER-derived digital elevation model (DEMs). The satellite image was acquired on June 10, 2006.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image of Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine , California

Click on image to view in high resolution.

The Mountain Pass rare earth mine is an open-pit mine of rare earth elements (REEs) in southeastern California near the Nevada border. REEs are vital for the electronics industry, auto manufacturing, and a wide range of other high-tech products. The mine once supplied most of the world’ rare earth elements until its closure in 2002. Since then, China has taken over as the leading supplier of REEs, producing over 96% of the world’s supply. In 2008, Mountain Pass was purchased by a new operator, who plans to produce 20-25% of the world’s REEs by 2014. The ASTER (15m) satellite image was acquired March 28, 2010.

ASTER (15m) Satellite Image of Naica Mine in Chihuahua, Mexico

Click image to view in high resolution.

The Naica mine in Chihuahua, Mexico, with its enormous gypsum crystals, may well be called the Queen of the Giant Crystals localities. Though the Naica mine is no show mine, but still a working lead-zinc mine hosted in layered limestones, the first of several crystal caves was discovered in 1910. This Cave of the Swords contained extraordinary large sword-like selenite (gypsum) crystals up to 2 meter long. In 2000 another crystal cave system was discovered at 300 meter depth, even more spectacular than the original cave. Inside were free growing gypsum crystals up to 12 meter long and 2 meter in diameter. The ASTER (15m) satellite image uses SWIR bands 4, 6, and 8 in RGB. Limestone is displayed in yellow-green colors, vegetation is red. The satellite image was acquired February 16, 2004.

ASTER Satellite images credit to NASA/GSFC/METI/Japan Space Systems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team and Courtesy of Satellite Imaging Corporation

For more information on remote sensing technology using satellite imagery for mining and mineral exploration, visit here.

Landsat 7 – ETM+ (15m) Satellite Image of the Yukon Delta
  September 22, 2002

Click on image to view in high resolution
(Image credit: NASA)