Daily Overview

One regular dose of Earth from above

New Overviews are posted regularly on Instagram — follow @dailyoverview to see them as soon as they go up.

Carlsbad Potash Ponds

32.510823°,-103.955313° - Vantor

Evaporation ponds are seen at the Intrepid Potash Mines near Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA. These mines produce muriate of potash and sulfate of potash magnesium, two mineral salts used in fertilizer. Salt is dried in these massive solar ponds after being pumped to the surface from underground brines. Water in the ponds is dyed with vibrant colors to reduce the time it takes for potash to crystallize — darker water absorbs more sunlight, causing it to evaporate more quickly.

Elizabeth Marine Terminal

40.674111°,-74.145861° - Nearmap

Shipping containers at Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The massive facility handles more than 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent containers every year. Working with the adjacent Port Newark, it is the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving New York metropolitan area.

Niagara Falls

43.077107°,-79.075506° - Nearmap

Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the border between Ontario, Canada and the United States. Horseshoe Falls is seen here. The falls have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). The Maid of the Mist, also visible here, is a boat that has carried passengers into the rapids below the falls since 1846.

Bangladesh Floating Gardens

24.947572°,91.616831° - Vantor

Floating gardens in Habiganj District, Bangladesh form a colorful mosaic when seen from the aerial perspective. This part of the country is characterized by alluvial plains criss-crossed by numerous rivers and streams, making hydroponic farming practical and less susceptible to flooding. Bangladesh is among the top producers of rice, potatoes, tropical fruit, jute and farmed fish.

Paris

48.865797°,2.330882° - Vantor

The street plan and distinctive appearance of central Paris, France is largely due to the vast public works program commissioned by Emperor Napoléon III and directed by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. Haussmann’s renovation of Paris included the demolition of crowded and unhealthy medieval neighborhoods and the building of broad, diagonal avenues, parks, squares, sewers, fountains, and aqueducts. Both the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe are visible in this Overview.

Serra de Santa Bárbara Volcano

38.729723°,-27.333654° - Vantor

Serra de Santa Bárbara is an inactive volcanic peak on the island of Terceira in the Azores, Portugal. At 3,350 feet (1,021 m), it is the highest point on the island. Just below the peak is the Santa Bárbara Caldera, which is roughly 0.6 miles (1 km) in diameter and has two smaller peaks in its center.

Citadel of Aleppo

36.199329°,37.163396° - Vantor

The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the center of the old city of Aleppo, Syria. It is considered one of the oldest and largest castles in the world, with human activity dating back to at least 2500 BC. The limestone structure sits atop a 130-foot-tall (40-meter) mound, surrounded by a 72-foot-deep (22-meter) and 98-foot-wide (30-meter) moat dating from the 12th century.

Darvaza Gas Crater

40.252500°,58.439600° - Vantor

The Darvaza gas crater is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan. Nicknamed the “Gates of Hell,” the crater has a diameter of 230 feet (70 meters) and a depth of about 66 feet (20 meters). How the crater formed and ignited remains unknown, but it is believed to have been purposefully lit in the 1980s to prevent emission of poisonous gases. In 2022, then Turkmen President announced plans to extinguish it.

Japan Rice Paddy Art

36.130477°,139.501714° - Vantor

Each year, rice paddies in Gyōda, Japan are cultivated to form incredible large-scale works of art to help attract tourism. This design, from 2021, depicts the famous Hokusai ukiyo-e woodblock print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, as well as an image of a traditional kabuki actor. The images are formed by strategic planting of different varieties and colors of rice.

Tangalooma Wrecks

-27.162833°,153.368361° - Nearmap

The Tangalooma Wrecks is a shipwreck site on the western side of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. It consists of 15 vessels that were deliberately sunk in 1963 to form a breakwall for small boats. In addition to providing safe harbor, the wrecks also created a popular dive and snorkel site, attracting a variety of marine life such as wobbegongs, trevally, yellowtail, and other tropical fish.

Northern Territory Streams

-20.564170°,137.440040° - Vantor

A winding network of streams and waterholes is seen on the eastern side of Australia’s Northern Territory. These waterways change shape frequently, as rainfall in this inland region is subject to extreme seasonal fluctuations. Nevertheless, they are an important resource for local agriculture and cattle ranching.

Copenhagen

55.676111°,12.568333° - Vantor

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with roughly 1.4 million people living in its urban area. Its city center is located inside 17th century fortifications and moats, some of which are preserved and seen clearly in this Overview. At the north of these ramparts is Kastellet, a star-shaped fortress overlooking the Port of Copenhagen and Øresund.

Christmas Tree Farm

41.541927°,-83.814027° - Eric Ward

Merry Christmas! Check out this great drone capture above a Christmas tree farm in Whitehouse, Ohio. Of the more than 15 million cut Christmas trees sold in the United States in 2017, roughly 155,000 were from Ohio. The largest Christmas tree producer in the U.S. is Oregon, where upwards of 4.7 million trees were cut for sale in 2017.

Salmas

38.202231°,44.767615° - Vantor

Salmas is a city in northwestern Iran, about 20 miles (32 km) from the Turkish border. It is one of few cities in the Middle East with a continental climate and among a small number of Iranian cities surrounded by farmland, most of which is used to grow wheat. Around 130,000 people live in Salmas.

Argentine World Cup Celebration

-34.603611°,-58.381667° - ZekeDrone

Hundreds of thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires yesterday to celebrate Argentina’s third World Cup Championship. This drone photograph shows a sea of fans in the Plaza de la República, surrounding the Obelisco de Buenos Aires national monument. Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout after tying 3-3 in more than 125 minutes of play.

Buenos Aires

-34.603333°,-58.381667° - Vantor

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, with more than 2.8 million residents. Architecture in the city is eclectic; due to immigration, there is a mix of Colonial, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Neo-Gothic and French Bourbon styles. This Overview shows several of Buenos Aires’ 48 barrios, or neighborhoods, including Almagro, Boedo, Caballito and San Cristóbal.

Skafta River

63.775112°,-18.096280° - Vantor

Glacial melting and flooding occurs every year by the Skafta River in Iceland. As the water travels down towards the North Atlantic Ocean, incredible patterns are created on the hillsides. Rising lava, steam vents, or newly opened hot springs can all cause this rapid ice melt, leading to a sizable release of water that picks up sediment as it flows down from the glaciers.

Lima, Peru

-12.060000°,-77.037500° - Planet

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru, with a population of more than 9.7 million in its urban area. It is located on mostly flat terrain in the Peruvian coastal plain, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This Overview also shows Isla San Lorenzo, Peru’s largest island, just offshore of the city.

Cairo New Capital

30.013550°,31.748478° - Vantor

A large-scale project to build a new capital city in Cairo, Egypt, has been under construction since 2015. The city, which is yet to be named, lies just east of Cairo and will house Egypt’s main government departments, ministries and foreign embassies. Once finished, it will cover 270 square miles (700 sq. km) and have a population of at least 6.5 million, in hopes of relieving congestion in Cairo.

Congo River

0.528910°,18.330720° - Vantor

The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa, with an overall length of 2,920 miles (4,700 kilometers). This Overview shows a section flowing through the Ngiri Reserve, a protected area in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since roads and railways are sparse in Central Africa, the Congo River is a lifeline for trading goods like copper, palm oil, sugar, coffee, and cotton.