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.
10.481310°,-66.798738° - Maxar
In eastern Caracas, Venezuela, a clear distinction is visible between the working-class neighborhood of Palo Verde and the slums of Petare. With a population of nearly 370,000, Petare is considered one of the largest slums in the world. Its homes, tightly packed and stacked on top of each other, contrast with the high-rise and greenery-spaced buildings of Palo Verde.
23.393206°,120.145904° - Maxar
Hundreds of “oyster condos” are visible in Budai Harbor, Taiwan. Farming operations like this, known as off-bottom systems, suspend oysters in baskets or cages near the water’s surface, allowing the oysters to be held above water part of the time. Budai is known for fresh oysters, fish, and other seafood, attracting many visitors to the Budai Harbor Fish Market.
45.438611°,10.992778° - Maxar
Verona is a city of roughly 260,000 inhabitants, located on the Adige River in northern Italy. With a rich artistic heritage, well preserved architecture, and several annual fairs, shows and operas, Verona is one of the main tourist destinations in the region. In fact, the whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its ancient Roman monuments and its variety of Medieval architecture.
41.394921°,2.175507° - Maxar
Plaça de Tetuan is a major square located in the Eixample District of Barcelona, Spain. This area is characterized by its strict grid pattern, octagonal intersections, and apartments with communal courtyards. At the square’s center is a monument of Dr. Bartomeu Robert Yarzábal, who served briefly as Mayor of Barcelona at the turn of the 20th century.
-16.300000°,-145.633333° - Maxar
Fakarava Atoll, presented by Lindblad Expeditions, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in French Polynesia. The many dots seen here are coral heads, knobby columns of coral that jut out above the surface of the water. When the conditions are right, divers can drift in and out of the atoll’s rectangular lagoon via two passes: Tumakohua in the south and Passe Garuae to the north. Black-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles and endless species of fish navigate Fakarava’s waters amid some of the most pristine and undisturbed coral in the world. To learn more or see how you can explore the Pacific Islands yourself, visit expeditions.com.
41.303953°,-81.901729° - Maxar
Happy Valentine’s Day! Check out this heart-shaped lake in Columbia Station, Ohio, USA. Almost perfectly symmetrical and lined by a driveway and trees, the lake is nearly 300 feet from top to bottom. Share this with that special someone, and have a great day!
33.953450°,-118.339200° - Nearmap
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, will host Super Bowl LVI this evening as the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams will become the second team in National Football League history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, and the visiting Bengals will vie for their first-ever league championship title. Kickoff is at 6:30 pm EST—who are you cheering for?
34.133287°,72.832028° - Maxar
A bare shoreline is visible at the Tarbela Reservoir in Pakistan. Formed by the impounding of the Indus River, the reservoir stores water during monsoon season and subsequently releases it during the low flow period in winter. The water gets its bright turquoise color from a high concentration of both silt and clay and once released, is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.
-27.521855°,153.276585° - Nearmap
Raby Bay is a development of homes and canals on the outskirts of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Previously an area of mudflats and mangroves, the neighborhood was built in the mid-1980s using land reclamation to bring residential and commercial development to the suburb of Cleveland, of which it is a part. As seen in this Overview, almost all of the hundreds of properties in Raby Bay have canal access leading out to Moreton Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
43.673805°,51.480751° - Maxar
Rock layers are visible at an inactive uranium mine on Kazakhstan’s Mangyshlak Peninsula. While this particular mine closed in the 1990s, Kazakhstan continues to be an important source of uranium and in 2019 produced 43% of the world’s supply. Uranium is primarily used for nuclear power generation and is also used in the creation of nuclear weapons.
40.541800°,115.802567° - Maxar
The Yanqing National Alpine Ski Centre, located just outside of Beijing, China, is the venue for all alpine skiing events at the 2022 Winter Olympics. It relies on artificial snow (evident from the white streaks amid dark mountains), which China has gone to great lengths to produce, diverting water from a key Beijing reservoir. As the climate warms, many believe fake snow will be the new norm for the Winter Olympics, raising concerns about water usage and scarcity.
38.904722°,-77.016389° - Planet
This Overview shows Washington, D.C. in its entirety, situated on the Potomac River between the states of Maryland and Virginia. It was established as the permanent capital of the United States in 1800 after New York and Philadelphia served as the first locations. The city is home to numerous monuments and buildings, including the three branches of the federal government: the Capitol, White House, and Supreme Court.
39.714167°,21.631111° - Maxar
Meteora is a unique rock formation and monastic site just outside the town of Kalabaka in central Greece. With an average height of 313 meters (1,027 feet), the enormous rock columns house 24 Eastern Orthodox monasteries, of which six remain active. Every year, thousands of tourists visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site, navigating staircases and pathways cut into the rock formations to reach the monasteries.
6.934444°,79.842778° - Maxar
Colombo is the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka, with more than 5.6 million living in its metro area. Located on the west coast of the island, it boasts the busiest port on the Indian Ocean, handling nearly 73 million tons of cargo in 2019. Just south of the port is the Colombo International Financial City, a special economic zone currently under construction on reclaimed land.
49.350000°,154.700000° - Planet
The Tao-Rusyr Caldera is a stratovolcano located on Onekotan Island, in Russia’s Far East. Roughly 7.5 kilometers (4.6 miles) wide, it contains the waters of Kol'tsevoe Lake and a large symmetrical cone, Krenitsyn Peak, which rises from the lake. Onekotan is part of the Kuril Islands, a volcanic archipelago and segment of the “Ring of Fire” — a path of tectonic activity that circles the Pacific Ocean.
39.991667°,116.390556° - Maxar
The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off today with an Opening Ceremony at China’s Beijing National Stadium. The stadium’s impressive design consists of two independent structures: a red concrete seating bowl and an outer frame of interconnected steel, earning it the nickname “The Bird’s Nest.” It will also host the Closing Ceremony on February 20th, just as it did for the 2008 Summer Olympics—Beijing is the first city ever to host both seasons of the Olympics.
19.433333°,-99.133333° - Planet
Mexico City is the capital and largest city in Mexico. With over 21.8 million residents, it is the most populous city in North America and the fifth largest on Earth. As seen in this Overview, the city is situated in the Valley of Mexico, a large highland plateau surrounded by numerous mountains and volcanoes.
3.698056°,42.597222° - Maxar
Luuq, Somalia, is located in a horseshoe-shaped bend of the Jubba River. The town’s geographic position has had a great influence on its history and development, helping it to become one of Somalia’s larger inland market towns as early as the 15th century. Central Luuq is home to about 41,000 people, and the broader region has a population of roughly 185,000.
-33.751111°,-80.783333° - Airbus Space
Alejandro Selkirk Island is the largest and most westerly island in Chile’s Juan Fernández Archipelago. Previously known as “Más Afuera,” it was renamed after 18th-century marooned sailor, Alexander Selkirk, who is thought to have inspired the title character in Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” novel. The island is densely wooded and mountainous, with tremendous coastal cliffs up to 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) high on its east coast.
41.383333°,2.183333° - Airbus Space
Barcelona is capital of Spain’s Catalonia region and second-most populous city, with a population of 1.6 million. Its cityscape follows a strict grid pattern of equally sized blocks, with broad streets that widen at octagonal intersections. This Overview shows much of Barcelona’s Eixample district, a bustling neighborhood with popular tourist sites including Plaça de Catalunya, Sagrada Familía, and Casa Milà.