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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.
Karlskrona
56.160833°,15.586111° - Vantor
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.
Calgary and the Canadian Rockies
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.
Citrus Trees
37.241139°,-7.294472° - Vantor
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%.
Chicago and Lake Michigan
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.
Lake Turkana
2.566930°,36.495156° - Vantor
Rocky outcrops form along the southern shore of Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. With a surface area of 2,473 square miles (6,405 square km), it is the world’s largest permanent desert lake and also the world’s largest alkaline lake. However, Turkana is threatened by the controversial construction of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam in Ethiopia, which blocks the Omo River from flowing into the lake.
Port of Manila
14.596667°,120.954444° - Vantor
The Port of Manila is the largest shipping facility in the Philippines, handling more than 75 million tonnes of cargo every year. Located at the mouth of the Pasig River, the area surrounding the port is home approximately 2 million people. In total, Manila is home to 22 million people in its urban area and is one of the world’s most densely populated cities with more than 41,000 people per square kilometer (107k per square mile).
Arizona Bush Fire
33.800000°,-111.300000° - Vantor
The Bush Fire is currently burning through large tracts of the Tonto National Forest in central Arizona. In these infrared Overviews captured on June 21, red areas represent living vegetation and grey areas show land scorched by the wildfire, which is already the fifth-largest in Arizona’s history. As the fire has gone relatively unnoticed in a jam-packed national news cycle, it has already burned more than 186,000 acres in the last 11 days. The Bush Fire is burning simultaneously with the Bighorn Fire — nearly 60,000 acres burned — and to the north by the Mangum Fire — nearly 70,000 acres burned. For a sense of scale, this Overview shows roughly 60 square miles (37k acres or 150 square km).
Rub' al Khali
20.000000°,50.000000° - Planet
Rub’ al Khali — or “The Empty Quarter” — is the largest sand desert in the world. It covers 251,000 square miles (650,000 sq. km) and includes parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. As seen here, the center of the desert contains a number of raised, hardened formations that were once the sites of shallow lakes, thousands of years ago.
Kauai
22.083333°,-159.500000° - Planet
Kauai is an island in the Central Pacific, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. It is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands — having formed about 5 million years ago — and is also the fourth largest, with an area of 562 square miles (1,456 square kilometers). Rainforests and mountain ranges cover more than 90% of Kauai, earning it the nickname “the Garden Isle.” It is home to about 72,000 people.
Venice
45.437500°,12.335833° - Vantor
Venice, Italy, is situated upon 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. With tide waters expected to rise to perilous levels in the coming decades, the city has constructed 78 giant steel gates across the three inlets through which water from the Adriatic could surge into Venice’s lagoon. The panels — which weigh 300 tons and are 92ft wide and 65ft high — are fixed to massive concrete bases dug into the seabed.
Great Blue Hole
17.315278°,-87.534444° - Vantor
The Great Blue Hole is a marine sinkhole off the coast of Belize. Now a popular destination for divers, the site is located near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll about 43 miles (70 km) from Belize City. The hole — measuring 1,043 feet (318 m) across and 407 feet (124m) deep — was formed during several episodes of glaciation between 153,000 and 15,000 years ago, when sea levels were much lower.
Alice Springs Airport
-23.806944°,133.902222° - Nearmap
Three massive Singapore Airlines A380s (seen at top) are currently being stored with other aircraft at Alice Springs Airport, in Australia’s Northern Territory. As the world’s largest passenger airliner, these planes weigh 580 tons and typically carry 525 passengers (even though they are certified to carry as many as 853 people). In total, the airline has grounded 138 out of its 147 aircraft worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sheik Zayed Road
25.218611°,55.280000° - Bachir Moukarzel
Check out this mind-blowing drone shot by Bachir Moukarzel of Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai, United Arab Emirates during lockdown. Since March 15th, a strict night curfew has been imposed here from 11pm until 5am for everyone without special traveling permits. The road links the two largest cities of the United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi and Dubai - and expands to 14 lanes at its widest point.
Elche
38.266944°,-0.698333° - Vantor
Elche, Spain, is home to approximately 228,000 residents. The city, also known as Elx, also contains the Palmeral of Elche - an orchard of more than 200,000 palm trees that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The distinctive red roofs of its urban center are seen in this Overview.
São Paulo
-23.550000°,-46.633333° - Vantor
São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil with approximately 12.1 million residents. In recent weeks, the city and its surrounding state have been among the hardest hit areas in Latin America by the coronavirus, reporting upwards of 123,000 cases and 8,275 deaths as of June 4. With a growing demand for emergency beds, hospitals in the city are nearing full capacity and could soon run out of space. Nationwide, Brazil has more than 584,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 32,000 deaths.
Robben Island
-33.806734°,18.366222° - Vantor
Robben Island is located seven kilometers off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Notoriously known as the prison for enemies of the government during the Apartheid era (1948 - early 1990’s), the island had been a destination for political prisoners as far back as the 17th century. For three centuries, this place was a symbol of repression and separateness. I want to make it clear that it is no coincidence that this Overview is being posted today. At this moment in history, Robben Island serves as a symbol of hope, a reminder that change for the better is both possible and sometimes difficult to recognize in the moment. This landmass of five-square kilometers hasn’t transformed too much since 1948, but we have. Since the end of apartheid, and to this day, the island has functioned as a living museum. - I have always thought one of the most powerful aspects of this project is that it had the ability to stay above the political fray. Usually, issues that divide us on the ground are not visible from outer space and therefore, our posts could offer a respite from that noise. However, with the current anger, grieving, and tension in my home country, I believe we are facing problems that go far beyond politics at this point. They are struggles for the most vital of human rights. Staying silent in this moment would go against everything this project hopes to accomplish. The astronauts who were lucky enough to see our planet from a great distance were reminded that we’re all in this together. Let’s start acting like it.
Praia Grande
-24.006111°,-46.402778° - Vantor
Waves of the Atlantic Ocean roll into the coast of Praia Grande, Brazil. Located in the state of São Paulo, the municipality is known for its beaches. Two of the most popular areas - Praia Ocian and Praia Aviação - are visible in this Overview.
Brasilia
-15.793888°,-47.882777° - Vantor
This Overview captures the urban plan of Brasilia, Brazil. The city was founded on April 21, 1960, in order to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location within Brazil. The design — resembling an airplane from above — was developed by Lúcio Costa and prominently features the modernist buildings of the celebrated architect Oscar Niemeyer at its center.
Nea Kameni
36.400000°,25.400000° - Vantor
Nea Kameni is an uninhabited Greek island, located in the Aegean Sea and within the flooded Santorini caldera. Formed over the last two thousand years through repeated volcanic eruptions, the barren island is visited daily by tourist boats throughout the summer. The last small eruption occurred in 1950.
Lamberts Point Coal Railyard
36.875250°,-76.320250° - Nearmap
Train cars filled with coal are stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. Operated by the Norfolk Southern corporation, Lamberts Point Pier 6 is the largest coal-loading station in the Northern Hemisphere and serves as the temporary depot for the company’s fleet of 23,000 coal cars. As of this month, the United States is on track to produce more electricity from renewable power than from coal this year for the first time on record.
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