One regular dose of Earth from above
37.912730°,-121.603287° - Nearmap
This Overview shows the Lido Circle cul-de-sac in Discovery Bay, California. Located about 60 miles (97 km) from San Francisco, Discovery Bay sits primarily on a network of man-made embankments surrounded by fresh water as well as some development on former agricultural land. The entire community is home to roughly 13,000 residents.
-20.440833°,57.749872° - Maxar
On July 25th, the MV Wakashio oil carrier ran aground offshore of Point d’Esny in Mauritius and has been leaking fuel ever since. As of Monday (August 10), an estimated 1,000 metric tons of oil had spilled from the ship from the ship’s estimated cargo of 4,000 tons of fuel. Mauritians have rushed to make absorbent barriers to contain the spill and protect local flora and fauna, including world-renowned coral reefs.
76.257617°,-83.830201° - NASA
Large chunks of ice break loose into Jones Sound, a waterway between Ellesmere and Devon Islands in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. Situated on the northern point of North America, this region experiences an extreme temperature range, exceeding 50°F (10°C) in summer and dropping as low as -58°F (-50°C) in the winter. In fact, its climate is more similar to Mars than almost any other place on Earth, making it an attractive area for scientists interested in terraforming the “Red Planet”.
-2.635833°,-65.756111° - Planet
The Juruá River is a southern tributary of the Amazon River, flowing approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through Brazil and Peru. For most of its length, the river winds through the Amazon basin and is generally curvy and sluggish.
40.799722°,-113.800000° - Matt Newey
Kayakers and paddle boarders float down a channel in the Bonneville Salt Flats of northwestern Utah, USA. Salt flats (also known as salt pans) are formed when a body of water evaporates, leaving behind a surface of salt and other minerals. This aqueduct transports saltwater to nearby evaporation ponds where potash is extracted and used as fertilizer. Covering about 40 square miles (100 square km), Bonneville is the largest of many salt pans located west of the Great Salt Lake.
37.909444°,-122.686389° - Maxar
Waves of the Pacific Ocean roll into Bolinas, California, roughly 20 miles (32 km) northwest of San Francisco. Known for its reclusive residents, the town is only accessible via unmarked roads and, in 1989, its inhabitants voted to discontinue road signs directing travelers into town. Bolinas is home to about 1,620 people.
-24.335167°,-128.310444° - Maxar
Henderson Island is a 14.4-square-mile, uninhabited landmass in the South Pacific Ocean. Studies have shown that this area has a higher density of plastic wash up on its shores than any other place on the globe. It is estimated that the island’s shores contain 37.7 million items of debris, weighing a total of 17.6 tons.
55.088389°,-1.628083° - Maxar
Northumberlandia, or “Lady of the North,” is a massive land sculpture in the shape of a reclining female figure near the town of Cramlington in northern England. Completed in 2012, the sculpture is made of 1.5 million metric tonnes of earth removed from the neighboring Shotton Surface Mine. It is 112 feet (34 m) high and 1,300 feet (400 m) long.
51.178889°,-1.826111° - Lewis Slade
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire, England, constructed sometime between 3000 and 2000 BC. This week, researchers announced they had finally traced the origin of its giant sarsen stones to the West Woods, a forested area about 15 miles (24 km) away in the town of Marlborough. These massive stones, which make up Stonehenge’s central horseshoe, stand up to 23 feet (7 m) tall and weigh up to 30 tonnes.
29.678832°,-95.003808° - Nearmap
The Barbours Cut Container Terminal in Morgan’s Point, Texas, is one of the busiest facilities operated by the Port of Houston. Located on Galveston Bay with easy access to the Gulf of Mexico, the terminal has six berths and 6,000 feet (1,828 m) of continuous dock space. In 2019, Barbours Cut and Bayport — the Port of Houston’s second container terminal — handled a collective 2,987,281 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo.
30.456750°,48.929444° - Maxar
Dendritic drainage systems are seen around the Shadegan Lagoon by Musa Bay in Iran. The word ‘dendritic’ refers to the pools’ resemblance to the branches of a tree, and this pattern develops when streams move across relatively flat and uniform rocks, or over a surface that resists erosion.
33.223290°,117.984020° - Maxar
A solar panel “fish” is seen amid a large array on Tiangang Lake in Jiangsu Province, eastern China. This solar project, which covers nearly half of the lake’s perimeter, is a combination of a fishery and a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 500,000 kilowatts. China added a reported 30 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2019, and solar was the only form of energy production that did not decline during the nation’s coronavirus lockdown in January and February 2020.
14.692778°,-17.446667° - Planet
Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal, with more than 2.4 million people in its metropolitan area. Situated on the Cap-Vert Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean, it is the westernmost city on the African mainland. Its coastal position at the crossroad of the major sea-lanes linking Europe and South America make Dakar a popular port of call for shipping vessels.
59.883333°,91.666667° - Julia Petrenko / Greenpeace
Since January, massive wildfires have blazed through Siberia, Russia, exacerbated by record-breaking heat waves in the region. An estimated 47 million acres (19 million hectares) of forests and fields have burned, which is an area larger than the nation of Greece. Wildfires in Siberia have become annual occurrences; however, the extent of this year's fires have heightened concerns among environmentalists about the accelerated melting of the Arctic. In the Krasnoyarsk region, where this image was captured, towns well north of the Arctic Circle have reported high temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
48.873778°,2.295000° - Maxar
The Arc de Triomphe is located at the center of 12 radiating avenues in Paris, France. Yesterday, millions took to these streets to celebrate France’s second FIFA World Cup victory (with a 4-2 final win over Croatia). Today, players and coaches will parade up the Champs-Elysees avenue, which passes diagonally through this Overview from bottom left to upper right.
-21.666530°,152.235135° - Planet
The Great Barrier Reef is Earth’s largest structure composed of living things, made of more than 2,900 individual reefs stretching roughly 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) offshore of Australia. Perhaps there is no better “canary in the coal mine” for nature’s reaction to a warming planet than the recent coral bleaching events at the reef. Ninety-three percent of the increase in global temperatures has been absorbed by the oceans, raising water temperatures and causing ocean acidification. As a reaction to the warmer waters, coral expel the algae living inside their tissues, which give the coral necessary nutrients that provide up to 90 percent of their energy. Corals can continue to live after bleaching, but often they begin to starve soon thereafter. In 2016, a bleaching event killed approximately 30 percent of the Great Barrier Reef ’s coral, and overall, the average time between bleaching events has halved between 1980 and 2016.
56.160833°,15.586111° - Maxar
Karlskrona, Sweden, is a city of roughly 67,000 people spread over 30 islands in the Baltic Sea. Its city center on the island of Trossö -- seen at the bottom of this Overview -- is characterized by uniform, baroque-style buildings from the turn of the 18th century. With an ideal coastal location on the southeastern end of Sweden, Karlskrona hosts the nation's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the Swedish Coast Guard.
51.050000°,-114.066667° - Planet
Calgary and the surrounding prairies of Alberta meet the rugged Canadian Rockies in western Canada. This 910-mile (1,460-km) stretch of mountains is overall more jagged than the American Rockies, with sharply pointed peaks and wide, U-shaped glacial valleys. As the third largest municipality in Canada, Calgary serves as a popular base for tourists and adventure-seekers wishing to venture into the four Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks. The yellow in the fields surrounding the city are canola flowers which are harvested for the production of oil that’s used as a source of biodiesel and is also a key ingredient in many foods.
37.241139°,-7.294472° - Maxar
Citrus trees swirl on the hillsides of Huelva, Spain. The climate here is ideal for this growth with an average temperature of 17.8° C (64° F) and a relative humidity between 60% and 80%.
41.881944°,-87.627778° - Planet
Chicago is the most populous city in the state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States, with upwards of 2.7 million people. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, the city’s gridded avenues stretch from the vibrant waters. For a sense of scale, O’Hare International Airport, which covers 11.9 square miles (30.8 square km), is visible in the bottom left.