Land images from Earth-observing satellites allow us to observe land use and land use change. Landsat — a joint NASA/USGS program — provides the longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land in existence. Every day, Landsat satellites provide essential information to help land managers and policy makers make wise decisions about our resources and our environment.
In addition to their scientific value, many satellite images are simply lovely to look at. Satellites capture an incredible variety of views of Earth. See the mesmerizing beauty of river deltas, mountains, and other sandy, salty, and icy landscapes. Some might even remind you of actual famous works of art!
Here are a few of our favorite Landsat images from the Earth as Art collection.
Melted Colors
![Landsat imagery courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat imagery depicting brilliant colors across Western Australia.](https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/earth-as-art-melted-colors.jpg)
This enhanced image of Western Australia resembles a mixture of crayons that melted in the sun. The yellow sand dunes of the Great Sandy Desert cover the upper right portion of the image. Red splotches indicate burned areas from grass and forest fires, and the colors in the rest of the image depict different types of surface geology.
Rapid Ice Movement
![Landsat imagery courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat satellite image showing rapid ice movement on Russian islands.](https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/earth-as-art-rapid-ice-movement.jpg)
One glacier on Russian islands in the Arctic Ocean surprised scientists with its rapid change. After decades of normal, slow movement, a glacier draining Vavilov Ice Cap sprang forward, accelerating rapidly after 2013. This fast movement is extremely rare for cold-based glaciers. In 5 years, the ice tongue doubled in size. In this inverted rendition, land is blue and fractured sea ice appears tan across the top of the image.
Salty Desolation
![Landsat imagery courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and U.S. Geological Survey. Landsat image featuring colorful splashes of orange, purple, green, and blue.](https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/earth-as-art-salty-desolation.jpg)
A vast, open expanse in Namibia is one of the largest salt pans in the world. The pan is within Etosha National Park, protected since 1907. The horizontal line across the image is the national park fence. The wild patterns in this infrared interpretation are from numerous episodes of water evaporation following seasonal rains. The salt from the water is rearranged into new patterns every time the shallow water dries out. The surrounding blue shades are dry bushland savanna.
Palmyra
![Landsat imagery courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and U.S. Geological Survey. Vegetation shown as bright blue with the surrounding water as light green.](https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/earth-as-art-palmyra.jpg)
Palmyra Atoll is an ancient volcanic remnant located about 1,000 miles from Hawaii. The Nature Conservancy, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages the atoll as a science and research station. Multispectral sensors on drones efficiently capture high-resolution images of land and coral reefs. Part of the atoll, an islet named Pelican Island, shows green vegetation as blue.
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