Huge Holes in the Earth: Open-Pit Mines Seen From Space

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" K3 I! w+ _2 W+ sPeople have become significant earth movers, outpacing all sources of natural erosion. More and more
) a' v1 }. j; Kof our footprint can be seen from space in many forms, including cities, reservoirs,agriculture and
# s4 N! @6 ~& p& S1 J2 ]( J& mdeforestation. Among the most impressive human scars on the planet are open-pit mines.
  w" @' x9 o7 M公仔箱論壇We’ve gathered some of the biggest, most spectacular and interesting mines, as captured by 9 p) z7 _- p- j9 O; W) l6 S% X/ a
astronauts and satellites on the following pages., ?+ ]4 m) o+ \  H- g5 [
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Above: Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana
  f( @$ P, I7 B1 \! ]: lThis former copper mine operated between 1955 and 1982. Gold and silver were also mined. 8 G: c8 r1 b% i, P$ j% |+ A+ d/ e
An elaborate system of pumps and drains kept the local water level low enough for mining. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb  [0 D  H8 U3 C0 w! g& \
Today, the 1,780 foot-deep pit is filled with around 900 feet of very contaminated water filled
$ u. [$ M1 K3 Ewith metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, pyrite, zinc,copper and sulfuric acid. The " W/ b5 c3 h; l- F* {
water can be as acidic as battery acid,and copper can actually be “mined” directly from the water.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。7 @( G: g6 {& z
Currently, the 1-mile-by-0.5-mile pit is listed as a federal Superfund site with the potential to
0 y9 n& T# o! R; }. X# M8 mcontaminate surrounding ground water, and,surprisingly, is also a tourist attraction, complete tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 l$ R1 a% x5 J1 N/ [/ v
with gift shop and$2 admission fee.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。( v1 d) o, w+ R: e3 C
This photograph was taken Aug. 2, 2006, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
5 }# {$ [8 ]0 ]- e公仔箱論壇os.tvboxnow.com: \; V( D8 J; Q1 D$ s. {
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Escondida Mine, Chile
1 p3 r2 f" t7 x% m7 Y9 W. F& e! Qos.tvboxnow.comThe Escondida mine, opened in 1990 at 10,000 feet in northern Chile’s Atacama desert, currently produces
4 U. n1 o) ^' i7 m9 z3 X. YTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。more copper than any other mine in the world, with 1.5 million tons in 2007, worth more than $10 billion and
' w8 F! K- A* z) j3 _TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。representing nearly a tenth of world copper production. More than 6,000 people work at the mine.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb8 K3 [8 R* Z9 ?2 {
This image was captured in 2000 by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
. z0 g( X' W1 f% k( F* J* \aboard NASA’s Terra satellite.
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Bingham Canyon Mine, Utahtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb, s- C/ K9 P4 h7 A+ W
Located 20 miles outside Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountains, the Bingham Canyon copper pit has produced
/ m8 c  o+ v* z8 \& `$ h0 [# R公仔箱論壇more than 18million tons of copper over its lifetime, more than any other mine in the world. The pit is about 2.75
3 X9 ?0 W% Q' E; X公仔箱論壇miles wide and 4,000 feet deep. Two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the the other wouldn’t reach " R( p" \4 z# W' S" ^+ k7 C( ?; ^
the top. By 2015, the mine will be 500 feet deeper, and a third Empire State building will fit inside. The terraces
9 l& _- u# n# b, a* ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvbinside the pit,which provide a base for the digging equipment and also stabilize the slopes, can be more than 80
' d% a- v/ S9 y* ATVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。feet high. Opened in 1904, the site has been named a historic landmark.
; A- k& G( H0 G8 W& @4 Y6 zThis photograph was taken Sept. 20, 2007, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a digital $ v) a8 u$ C; h5 Y3 K8 x( N2 |5 i
camera and an 800mm lens.os.tvboxnow.com" k+ o4 `) w0 c3 m9 ]) @
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+ K2 P1 l$ ?9 v+ S, t& w5 ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvbYuba River Goldfields, California.公仔箱論壇+ d1 p  `2 z) d) k
The Yuba Goldfields are a strange culmination of years of pressure-jet mining for gold upstream in the Sierra Nevada,
6 q3 g# A% f% m# U; s6 ~$ pos.tvboxnow.comdredging the tailings out of the river, and mining the tailings for gold and then later for gravel. The result is an odd tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 ]' ^: Q" o. b* Z
landscape of reddish-brown and gray hills of gravel with water-filled ravines in between.
- ^# I" g7 B$ v- r7 ?$ o' Atvb now,tvbnow,bttvbShortly after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevadain 1848, panning gave way to highly destructive hydraulic
4 L0 W1 V" x6 _/ b4 pmining, which involves blasting sediment away with high-powered jets of water. Gold was extracted from the gravel,
0 f" b0 s2 m& B2 uos.tvboxnow.comwhich was then dumped and carried downstream by rivers into the Sacramento Valley. The Yuba River ended up with
) v$ ~6 B6 x: Y+ F. P8 ltvb now,tvbnow,bttvb685 million cubic feet of the mine waste, which raised the level of the river, overflowed the banks and buried farms.
) ^6 |! V2 J5 ~Dredging of the Yuba began in 1893, and soon after,mining companies began to sift and re sift through the debris to tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 u2 b! P  c( ?
extract ever-smaller bits of gold. By 1970, all economically feasible gold removal had been completed, and mining of the
' P$ e9 {0 d/ \, }* m! D# r: o# Lgravel for concrete began. Today, ownership of the land is disputed among mining companies, private owners and the government.
; D: o9 I- G# p1 X% Wos.tvboxnow.comThis image was taken by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite Aug. 29, 2001.
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7 W/ V4 R0 c& O! P. X+ P- wTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Toquepala Copper Mine, Peru公仔箱論壇( Y7 W  t- {7 \9 ]+ B5 R8 u* L
Located in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru, the Toquepala mine is 1.5 miles wide and 2,300 feet deep. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 W3 M3 t& h: {0 A5 U+ G
The mine’s main output is copper, but it also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. The railroad that was
7 m" B5 S% N, j8 B* |TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。constructed to carry the ore 60 miles to the coast can be seen winding down a canyon left of the center, 8 J' R: p+ P; v  X
heading southwest from the mine. This image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb! t- U  {9 C) q+ l/ ?
Station on Sept. 22, 2003.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 f: u3 @9 c. S4 l: Q5 H0 i
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Freeport Mine, Indonesia8 C+ _9 C+ W' Q' N7 ]- h5 z& ]/ S: l
The Freeport Mine, also known as the Grasberg complex,is a huge mining operation in Indonesia’s Sudirman
5 ^2 b  \) ^3 |5 X/ f* Atvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMountains. Copper was discovered here in 1936, and gold was first found in 1988. Today,the mine is one of
& R! c6 R& U3 m; H( {os.tvboxnow.comthe largest gold- and copper-extraction operations in the world. The open pit is 2.5 miles wide, and there is tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ m5 i3 B/ i( l4 R: s
extensive underground mining in the area as well. Glaciers are also visible in the image.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb# |9 b! L; ~: L& }% z$ @( o, ^
This photograph was taken June 25, 2005, by astronauts on the International Space Station.! l! C2 ~1 h) H, Y3 ^- s

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Cananea Mine, Mexico公仔箱論壇" s! L1 m+ j8 z' J
The Cananea mine is located 25 miles south of the United States border in Sonora, Mexico. The active Colorada
7 W! A, L* V) N公仔箱論壇Pit in the upper right is 1.6 miles across. It is one of the largest copper producers in the world and also contains 公仔箱論壇6 N- _3 Y2 D8 d5 r( {( a
gold. Those two metals are often found together where hot magma forced its way up into the overlying bedrock. 1 D) g/ [8 m% x
The magma crystallized there while hot fluids circulated through it and into fractures in the surrounding rock,altering ; d% M$ W) K, F4 s* G  O
the rock to produce copper-rich minerals and gold.公仔箱論壇8 _) \! J) K+ K+ t% e+ N
A 1906 miner’s strike at Cananea turned violent and resulted in 19 deaths, contributing to events that led to the os.tvboxnow.com$ Y; b$ ^. S- j, n" `5 F
Mexican Revolution in 1910. Another strike stopped work at the mine in 2007.
9 r% I( w% Y' o% K9 L+ XThis image was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on March 3, 2008.
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Phosphate Mines, Jordan
, t' N9 s5 B" L2 j" [0 E9 q/ N+ gPhosphate mining is an important industry in Jordan,which has abundant deposits of the mineral on approximately 60 os.tvboxnow.com+ L: ^3 B/ O# {% w8 @; c+ Z. i6 D6 _
percent of its territory. Phosphorus is essential to living things, and food can’t be produced without it. Some scientists
' c( q7 v4 e/ \" \fear a shortage of this critical resource is impending and have predicted the world will reach “Peak Phosphorus,” the
( {6 i7 q3 j* j4 dos.tvboxnow.compoint at which production will begin to decline, just 30 years from now. There is currently no synthetic alternative.os.tvboxnow.com' c: h9 R. P4 y' r" G( c% R6 ?
This image was capture by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra
6 b; _6 a* p) V1 |satellite Sept. 17, 2005. It is a false-color composite of visible and infrared images. Vegetation appears red, water is TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。% {3 u2 ], q8 P. O8 p
blue, and rock and soil can be anywhere from buff to black. The mining operation is the area just left of center in the
$ ]4 N' i5 T' t9 I) e. i) r1 mlower part of the image that appears striped.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。) \4 F8 t- |# V' A& e( S5 t

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0 w5 S- x3 V! Z$ g- K0 Qos.tvboxnow.comNew Cornelia Mine, Arizona
# _; }, ^4 K" n+ \7 b0 k9 K9 JTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Copper was first mined from this area just south of the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, around 1750. The open-pit mine pictured
# |2 X4 k2 k( X9 w4 I5 c1 ^9 ]% ]tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbabove began being excavated in earnest in 1912. It was shut down in 1983 when the price of copper dropped. The scalloped
$ k9 t: `  y' H+ X: Q9 PTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。land just to the right of the mine is covered in tailings, and the large gray rectangles above that are containment ponds where
+ O9 S  E* U; R; X% @. aTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。the metal was extracted.os.tvboxnow.com" d0 O: P( Q. V$ c
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& a, w! ^* M* k! g; A+ U' I+ S: ttvb now,tvbnow,bttvbHambach Coal Mines, Germany
" B1 V# N/ ?/ e+ eos.tvboxnow.comThe bright white-and-dark-blue–striped areas on the right side of this image are opencast coal mines in mid western Germany.
3 g: b% B; p5 D4 [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbOne of the mines is currently being worked by the Bagger 293, the largest machine in the world.The bucket-wheel excavator 公仔箱論壇( D) ]9 y/ ~  [: R+ j' P3 `# o
is twice as long as a soccer field and a stall as a 30-story building, and digs up 30 million tons of lignite per year.
+ H2 k0 o0 y" J1 H# |/ Q3 h- Btvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThis image, captured by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite
& K$ ^+ v/ Y" |+ s公仔箱論壇Aug. 26, 2000, is a simulated natural-color image. The bright-green rectangular patches are crops, the gray patches are 公仔箱論壇; C) d5 }) s5 B6 F' L7 {! ^
bare ground, and the bluish-gray areas are towns.