# Can you see any man-made features on this picture of the earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221 "2012-01-30T20:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/1 "2012-01-30T20:00:18Z")
From NASA: > **[APOD: 2012 January 30 - Blue Marble Earth from Suomi NPP](https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120130.html)** > > A different astronomy and space science > related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation. Description: > [@](#): > > Behold one of the more detailed images of the Earth yet created. This Blue Marble Earth montage shown above – created from photographs taken by the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on board the new Suomi NPP satellite – shows many stunning details of our home planet. The Suomi NPP satellite was launched last October and renamed last week after Verner Suomi, commonly deemed the father of satellite meteorology. The composite was created from the data collected during four orbits of the robotic satellite taken earlier this month and digitally projected onto the globe. Many features of North America and the Western Hemisphere are particularly visible on a high resolution version of the image. I downloaded the high-resolution version (16.4 MB) and I can’t see any artificial structures on it. Am I wrong, and is there a visible man-made feature in the picture? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/2 "2012-01-30T20:14:29Z")
I spent about 5 minutes on the hi res image, but it starts to pixilate before I can see any clearly man-made objects. Maybe if we were looking at the northeaster US or some area where there was a really long bridge… BTW, are you interpreting “feature” in your quote as “man-made feature” I assume they are talking about geographic features. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/3 "2012-01-30T20:16:26Z")
You can just make out the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway on the 8000x8000 image. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/4 "2012-01-30T20:18:31Z")
> [@hammos1](#): > > You can just make out the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway on the 8000x8000 image. You’re right! And I had specifically looked for that earlier since NOLA is pretty well represented, and I was just there a few months ago driving on that causeway. You kinda have to know it’s there to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/5 "2012-01-30T20:22:34Z")
I see some features that look like smoke plumes (like from power plants) in central and western Florida, and something that looks like contrails in the midwest, but can’t say I see any cities, highways, dams or other artifacts. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/6 "2012-01-30T20:24:27Z")
Lake Meade is probably also discernible, but my knowledge of geography is insufficient to pick it out. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/7 "2012-01-30T20:26:07Z")
I can’t spot any individual structures, but you can certainly spot cities and other man-made features. In particular, if you check Lake Ponchartrain, you can easily spot all the concrete/pavement around the New Orleans area on the southern side. Likewise, several American cities are visible from the change in color. Houston is obscured by clouds, but Dallas, Atlanta, St Louis, Tulsa, Omaha, Memphis, Miami, Tampa, and several other cities can be picked out. And I’m not sure if it’s what you’re looking for, but a good number of artificial lakes are visible. They were created by Corp of Engineer dams. They look natural on the photo, so you’d have to know they were man-made. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/8 "2012-01-30T20:30:32Z")
In the LA basin you can see lines which are development along some of the freeways - but I see no individual structures. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/9 "2012-01-30T20:33:28Z")
Does Lake Mead count? I think I can also see Port Mansfield Channel which cuts through Padre Island in South Texas. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/10 "2012-01-30T20:42:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Lake Meade is probably also discernible, but my knowledge of geography is insufficient to pick it out. Look almost directly above and very slightly to the right of the Gulf of California in that image (it’s actually due north of it). Very recognizable by its shape, and, yes, easily visible. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=lake%2Bmead&ll=35.958,-114.414368&spn=1.974168,2.488403&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Lake%2BMead&t=m&z=9 ETA: I mean the northern end of the Gulf, of course. The entire gulf stretches a large distance to the southeast. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/11 "2012-01-30T20:51:54Z")
Since Mexico City is almost dead center, the Pyramid of the Sun would be a good candidate. But there are clouds in that area and I haven’t found exactly where the pyramid would be. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/12 "2012-01-30T20:56:48Z")
Does the Salton Sea count? ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/13 "2012-01-30T21:05:38Z")
Lake Mead is easy to spot. You can also see Lake Hartwell (Ga./S.C border) ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/14 "2012-01-30T21:12:48Z")
Lake Mead is easy to spot. You can also see Lake Hartwell (Ga./S.C border) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/15 "2012-01-30T21:56:54Z")
Without any zooming, in the initial image the crows foot delta of the Mississippi is clearly visible. The bulk of it is due to the US Army Corps of Engineers channeling the river. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/16 "2012-01-30T22:02:53Z")
I can’t quite tell if the white spots over on Cape Canaveral are part of the launch complexes & air force base there, or whether they’re just part of the patchy clouds to the north. My guess would be the latter, unfortunately, but maybe somebody has better eyes than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/17 "2012-01-30T22:09:39Z")
I could make out Austin and San Antonio, nestled up to the Balcones Escarpment in Central Texas. Just northwest of Austin, I can make out Lake Travis, a man-made lake in the Hill Country. There appears to be a cold front moving across Texas. If you look near the middle of the front of the clouds, you see a dark patch of land sticking out. This is the Texas Hill Country. It’s eastern edge is defined by the Balcones Fault. At the northern edge of where the hills meet the storm front, you can make out Austin. (Had the picture been taken an hour or so later, Austin would be obscured by the clouds.) Start where the dark patch meets the clouds. Follow the dark/light line a bit southeast and you’ll come to the Capital City. Now, keep following the fault line south as it curves back to the west. You’ll notice a little divot where the fault turns sharply west, the continues a generally southerly route. Right at this divot is San Antonio. It is distinctive by its loop highways. If you follow the cold front to the northeast, you can find the DFW Metroplex. It is behind the front, just about where the front ends at the TX/OK border. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/18 "2012-01-30T22:55:53Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I could make out Austin and San Antonio, nestled up to the Balcones Escarpment in Central Texas. Just northwest of Austin, I can make out Lake Travis, a man-made lake in the Hill Country. I couldn’t quite believe it myself at first, but looking closely at the Austin-San Antonio area you can see little white spots…those are all large open pit limestone quarries. It is quite easy to confirm this by bringing up the satellite map of the area in Google Maps and noting the location of Canyon Lake (an artificial lake in the Hill Country north of San Antonio) and comparing the quarries seen there to the Blue Marble shot. So there…Texas-sized honest to goodness visible from space quarries, no dam-created lakes required. Suck on that China! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/19 "2012-01-30T23:01:06Z")
I’m open to accusations of moving the goalposts, but I’m tempted to say that manmade lakes don’t count. The dam that creates the manmade lake would count, but not the lake. I would apply the same criterion to the Mississippi delta. Same for big holes (limestone quarries.) I want to see a structure! Like a huge sports stadium or something! 🙂 You people have better eyes (and better knowledge of geography) than me, so I’ll spend more time staring at the Lake Pontchartrain area, and looking for large cities that were mentioned in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221/20 "2012-01-30T23:12:01Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I couldn’t quite believe it myself at first, but looking closely at the Austin-San Antonio area you can see little white spots…those are all large open pit limestone quarries. It is quite easy to confirm this by bringing up the satellite map of the area in Google Maps and noting the location of Canyon Lake (an artificial lake in the Hill Country north of San Antonio) and comparing the quarries seen there to the Blue Marble shot. > > So there…Texas-sized honest to goodness visible from space quarries, no dam-created lakes required. Suck on that China! 😉 It is a bad angle for it, but the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah is also visible. You have to know where it is to find it, just south of the the Great Salt Lake. But it is there. And if you look at the lake itself you can clearly see the separation created by the causeways across the lake. But I can’t make out the causeways themselves. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-see-any-man-made-features-on-this-picture-of-the-earth/611221.md?page=2)