On a recent flight to Miami International (MIA), I had a window seat and was enjoying the view of the Everglades as we approached Miami from the west. As the 'Glades gave way to developed land, I noticed a good number of what appeared to be huge industrial holding ponds, obviously manmade and in most instances a bright pastel green color, although there were some yellows and darker greens.
Anybody got the SD on what these are? Are they related to the Everglades in any way? If not, why so close? Are they all the same company?
Most likley the ponds that remain when limestone or other minerals are mined. If you drive South of Miami towards Florida City and Key West you’ll pass several of these. They have conveyer belts running along side. That’s what makes me think mining.
A Google search using “mining Florida” returns several hits indicating that Phosphates are mined in Florida. But nothing worth a cite.
Actually a lot of those are ponds made when that land was drained and “reclaimed” for industrial or residential use. Don’t get me started on the environmental impact down here.
Similar the the “borrow pits” next to hiway interchanges built in areas that are flat. To get the dirt for building up an overpass, they “borrow” dirt from the surrounding area. In some places there are ponds, the flooded pits, on all four corners. I’ve noted this in Florida and Illinois particularly.
Daytona International Speedway is the largest example of a borrow pit in the state of Florida. Enough dirt was removed to create 44 acre Lake Lloyd in the infield of the race track. When I compare that to a local lake near where I live that is only 22 acres in size, that is a big lake.
Yup, Shiva, those aerial pictures seem to be it. I don’t know if those mines from the first link are it exactly, though. I found the equivalent through Mapquest, which has color aerial shots, and since they have a pain-in-the-neck free registration, I uploaded them elsewhere.
I agree that they’re probably flooded strip mines, given the unnatural color, but I thought these photos might help us know for sure. Is it the phospate that turns them these odd colors?
Mapquest also lets you switch from aerial photos over to the street map, so I can give you that version too.
