Landsat 5 observed the growth of one of the largest surface mines in the state it expanded from ridge to ridge.
Published Mar 3, 2010
This pair of images shows the growth of a mountaintop removal in the headwaters of Mud River in Boone County, West Virginia, between 1987 and 2002.
Published Dec 23, 2007
Nestled in a river valley in the Allegheny Mountains, the city first attracted weary travelers, who then stayed for the salt, trees, and coal.
Published Aug 30, 2020
Since the mid- to late 1990s, the number and size of coal mines known as mountaintop removal mines increased dramatically in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The final step in processing this coal creates sludge that contains coal dust, sediment, and possibly heavy metals and chemicals. Mine operators contain the coal sludge in nearby valleys, behind huge earthen dams known as valley fills.
Published Apr 25, 2008
After seven decades, sand mining operations have stopped in Australia’s North Stradbroke Island.
Published May 7, 2020
The pit near Phalaborwa and Kruger National Park is the most visible sign of a long history of mining in the region.
Published Jul 30, 2019
The Surat Basin has 150 million-year-old sediments, four billion tons of proven thermal coal resources, and a bunch of cows.
Published Apr 7, 2019
The red-brown earth exposed by open pit mines contrast with the greens of the surrounding Amazon forest.
Published Feb 23, 2019
The United States’ highest rate of coal production is in Wyoming, with almost 4 million short tons extracted in 2004. The majority of this coal is burned to generate electrical power within the United States, but a small percentage is also goes to Spain and Canada. The Powder River Basin in the northeastern portion of the state is the most productive of Wyoming’s coal fields. The extensive coal deposits—ranging in thickness from 21 to 53 meters (70 to 175 feet)—formed over 38-66 million years ago. The source of organic material for the coal originated in swamps, estuaries, and deltas associated with the regression (retreat) of a large inland seaway that occupied central North America during the Cretaceous Period, which spanned the years between about 144 to 65 million years ago.
Published Oct 10, 2005
Multiple layers of coal lie underground in ancient rocks. In some places, miners remove mountaintops to get at it.
Published Apr 10, 2011
Phosphate deposits are one of Western Sahara’s few natural resources. At the Bou Craa phosphate mine, 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) from the coastal city of El Aaiún, abundant, pure phosphate deposits lie near the surface.
Published Oct 5, 2008
Powder River Basin is a major source of low-sulfur coal, helping to make Wyoming one of the largest coal-producers in the United States.
Published Mar 14, 2016
An astronaut managed to capture the size and detail of the artificial landscape that results from strip mining.
Published Jun 26, 2017
The city’s economic engine is also a worrisome source of pollution.
Published Mar 16, 2019
Located in the Sudirman Mountains of the Irian Jaya province of Indonesia, the Grasberg complex is one of the largest gold and copper mining operations in the world.
Published Aug 1, 2005
Agricultural activities and mining occur side-by-side in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This scene is located in the Turgayskaya Oblast of central Kazakhstan, near the provincial capital of Arkalyk, where Russian spacecraft landings occur.
Published Nov 24, 2002
