# H/ c) n6 r, y, ~公仔箱論壇os.tvboxnow.com& p2 C! c9 R$ C+ J; l
People have become significant earth movers, outpacing all sources of natural erosion. More and more 0 G7 Y+ Y$ f  r( n# V' `4 C$ z
of our footprint can be seen from space in many forms, including cities, reservoirs,agriculture and
" u$ }. Z: C8 ^. g5 f, Pdeforestation. Among the most impressive human scars on the planet are open-pit mines.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb, _, ~5 a1 W/ R1 C( }( A* R
We’ve gathered some of the biggest, most spectacular and interesting mines, as captured by os.tvboxnow.com0 E- c$ J* l8 w* J) m
astronauts and satellites on the following pages.
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Above: Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana
0 V' @8 Z! j9 T( e- f; lThis former copper mine operated between 1955 and 1982. Gold and silver were also mined. $ U- g6 j+ O" q( d3 V- y1 r- U
An elaborate system of pumps and drains kept the local water level low enough for mining. 公仔箱論壇' A- B+ z7 z0 X* J- {
Today, the 1,780 foot-deep pit is filled with around 900 feet of very contaminated water filled公仔箱論壇7 ^$ P; [3 O1 ~' h" I
with metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, pyrite, zinc,copper and sulfuric acid. The
8 \0 h) m4 m( f, b, l7 B. z, L/ Xwater can be as acidic as battery acid,and copper can actually be “mined” directly from the water.公仔箱論壇# c& c0 F' V! p) Y+ i6 W
Currently, the 1-mile-by-0.5-mile pit is listed as a federal Superfund site with the potential to
) a9 l" k4 y9 G( y6 M$ wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbcontaminate surrounding ground water, and,surprisingly, is also a tourist attraction, complete 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。  c+ {1 `" L# A; i9 y
with gift shop and$2 admission fee.
3 G+ O9 C, J4 O. F* ^2 u  K4 uos.tvboxnow.comThis photograph was taken Aug. 2, 2006, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station., x& A  i2 @& W; U- X1 z( Y7 d8 f- z; a
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- |! q4 c/ `& I/ }; u: q; a4 y" J9 ^! @Escondida Mine, Chile
1 A. h& W" U: W. Z; W. P" ?公仔箱論壇The Escondida mine, opened in 1990 at 10,000 feet in northern Chile’s Atacama desert, currently produces * ]. r% o9 A  c' j
more copper than any other mine in the world, with 1.5 million tons in 2007, worth more than $10 billion and
6 o( H4 V8 u- trepresenting nearly a tenth of world copper production. More than 6,000 people work at the mine.. v/ t. I+ X1 T# V: @! |
This image was captured in 2000 by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
$ z+ y2 i* D0 P1 g; [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbaboard NASA’s Terra satellite.os.tvboxnow.com& s  o% p& H. V% f2 U7 T4 T; c

4 b+ H5 P2 x5 _! F9 {公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; |! C3 Z, Y( [4 f3 f

0 {& A) j0 h4 U2 Vos.tvboxnow.comBingham Canyon Mine, Utah
6 I# ?- M  o% g3 c9 L9 W; v( aLocated 20 miles outside Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountains, the Bingham Canyon copper pit has produced
) A( t% J" [4 c$ q4 ~) STVBNOW 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 than 18million tons of copper over its lifetime, more than any other mine in the world. The pit is about 2.75
" F6 _' P  T1 V# Z2 M5 H) _$ ^miles wide and 4,000 feet deep. Two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the the other wouldn’t reach
2 F" q- w  E$ Z/ ^tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbthe top. By 2015, the mine will be 500 feet deeper, and a third Empire State building will fit inside. The terraces
' `% w" ]  t8 |4 G; h! B7 BTVBNOW 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。inside the pit,which provide a base for the digging equipment and also stabilize the slopes, can be more than 80 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。+ x! O( Q$ A) p6 V0 F6 X
feet high. Opened in 1904, the site has been named a historic landmark.os.tvboxnow.com# n4 O6 R6 T2 k7 H7 S3 }
This photograph was taken Sept. 20, 2007, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a digital
! h5 M2 _1 j( p- }! p* Qos.tvboxnow.comcamera and an 800mm lens.: O) h* z4 C+ |: I8 @

7 e; k  O& I; R; p; k8 vTVBNOW 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。# f+ r0 ^" v# [
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Yuba River Goldfields, California.公仔箱論壇0 W/ _! ^8 t0 Y+ e
The Yuba Goldfields are a strange culmination of years of pressure-jet mining for gold upstream in the Sierra Nevada, 公仔箱論壇& C, W4 a1 {. m0 y) \5 C% q$ d
dredging the tailings out of the river, and mining the tailings for gold and then later for gravel. The result is an odd os.tvboxnow.com1 Z: [% I/ z2 ]6 {8 S9 r' A! h
landscape of reddish-brown and gray hills of gravel with water-filled ravines in between.
1 n1 ]& [! v) Vtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbShortly after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevadain 1848, panning gave way to highly destructive hydraulic
" l9 @2 B4 j+ E' W1 J公仔箱論壇mining, which involves blasting sediment away with high-powered jets of water. Gold was extracted from the gravel, tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb" L- d: r% z' a( h3 f9 w  S- R) _
which was then dumped and carried downstream by rivers into the Sacramento Valley. The Yuba River ended up with
/ X3 x: j% G, I; y685 million cubic feet of the mine waste, which raised the level of the river, overflowed the banks and buried farms.公仔箱論壇& n, ]4 ?# T, N" y+ V
Dredging of the Yuba began in 1893, and soon after,mining companies began to sift and re sift through the debris to
% y( M" R! {% b$ y; Mextract ever-smaller bits of gold. By 1970, all economically feasible gold removal had been completed, and mining of the 公仔箱論壇- T3 |0 W  H' O
gravel for concrete began. Today, ownership of the land is disputed among mining companies, private owners and the government.) L* C+ ]6 w6 y' p- ]! h
This 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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Toquepala Copper Mine, Peru
2 @, o/ r8 N# ELocated in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru, the Toquepala mine is 1.5 miles wide and 2,300 feet deep.
# h3 T5 n. \* uThe mine’s main output is copper, but it also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. The railroad that was
4 f* C7 D" M& ^0 @$ q) Jconstructed to carry the ore 60 miles to the coast can be seen winding down a canyon left of the center,
: Z8 M2 i8 ?5 j. f4 A) x0 [. n9 q5 Vtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbheading southwest from the mine. This image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space 2 u2 L. b3 ^- I% J
Station on Sept. 22, 2003.
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0 K. R. W# m# hFreeport Mine, Indonesia, a/ I. w* w' T; H( o% ?
The Freeport Mine, also known as the Grasberg complex,is a huge mining operation in Indonesia’s Sudirman 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。0 l6 k. L3 l/ f$ h
Mountains. Copper was discovered here in 1936, and gold was first found in 1988. Today,the mine is one of os.tvboxnow.com" N* d$ s: D+ X! ~
the largest gold- and copper-extraction operations in the world. The open pit is 2.5 miles wide, and there is tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 G+ K$ ]- L2 L4 q! `
extensive underground mining in the area as well. Glaciers are also visible in the image.
( J0 @" s6 N: F! U$ _; xTVBNOW 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。This photograph was taken June 25, 2005, by astronauts on the International Space Station.公仔箱論壇$ |- B, \' ~1 s/ U+ j9 ^

4 M* A* z9 t- Z- {. S* U3 T; RTVBNOW 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。+ D4 I+ d. I8 r9 [0 ~

9 ^1 F5 N( W; @) 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。Cananea Mine, Mexico
) P' s8 T/ ^2 m2 a7 ?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe Cananea mine is located 25 miles south of the United States border in Sonora, Mexico. The active Colorada
3 T) w  D( @) y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 os.tvboxnow.com& i3 M% w7 p/ a! G7 R# R
gold. Those two metals are often found together where hot magma forced its way up into the overlying bedrock.
+ E) ?4 {0 {" E- u! q$ e4 vos.tvboxnow.comThe magma crystallized there while hot fluids circulated through it and into fractures in the surrounding rock,altering tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb% p9 S% j9 L) d# i4 _9 R
the rock to produce copper-rich minerals and gold.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb: H9 S( `1 S, H1 M- I% }2 z
A 1906 miner’s strike at Cananea turned violent and resulted in 19 deaths, contributing to events that led to the
% V" L' R1 ]3 A( Dtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMexican Revolution in 1910. Another strike stopped work at the mine in 2007.
& T! m6 m# P- I: @" FTVBNOW 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。This image was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on March 3, 2008.
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1 `4 A+ }( q) R# j2 qPhosphate Mines, Jordan  S. J$ G5 U" O# n. O9 A' m1 v
Phosphate mining is an important industry in Jordan,which has abundant deposits of the mineral on approximately 60 $ s6 Y9 C1 J6 E+ r% f7 w
percent of its territory. Phosphorus is essential to living things, and food can’t be produced without it. Some scientists
" k3 f5 E+ o2 D$ i) ]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。fear a shortage of this critical resource is impending and have predicted the world will reach “Peak Phosphorus,” the
7 r3 C  e0 O+ ]+ ]2 w* `+ Q0 hpoint at which production will begin to decline, just 30 years from now. There is currently no synthetic alternative.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb  m$ C) `- c, Z, N2 Z7 {& {9 U0 N
This image was capture by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra os.tvboxnow.com! U- K; X" o7 Q2 Y4 P
satellite Sept. 17, 2005. It is a false-color composite of visible and infrared images. Vegetation appears red, water is os.tvboxnow.com; r0 R4 ^6 t' @4 C/ t' B
blue, and rock and soil can be anywhere from buff to black. The mining operation is the area just left of center in the
. k& Q% B! H/ v3 C5 m4 e0 `tvb now,tvbnow,bttvblower part of the image that appears striped.
  m$ D% ]' Z( k5 q6 {+ \8 QTVBNOW 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。( G/ m. q9 Q* k+ w" L8 y0 ?# ?: p
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。! N% @( C5 V! B5 c% G9 j
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New Cornelia Mine, Arizonatvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. N# z$ b4 c2 [4 q! h( R: d
Copper was first mined from this area just south of the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, around 1750. The open-pit mine pictured os.tvboxnow.com% ?6 \1 o8 X0 X9 W3 n+ h/ R( o1 J
above began being excavated in earnest in 1912. It was shut down in 1983 when the price of copper dropped. The scalloped os.tvboxnow.com& Z! _0 L# }: _7 ]2 K/ n. X
land just to the right of the mine is covered in tailings, and the large gray rectangles above that are containment ponds where
9 ?1 x9 Y1 e0 w2 i! q# p+ G6 Pthe metal was extracted.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb2 i* W6 h! j- S

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/ N7 K, k2 d% d1 o4 c. r9 K% k$ g, gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbHambach Coal Mines, Germany
$ Q% f9 \/ t5 A; _7 [% ytvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe bright white-and-dark-blue–striped areas on the right side of this image are opencast coal mines in mid western Germany. 2 N% Q9 ]" l: E2 A7 r
One of the mines is currently being worked by the Bagger 293, the largest machine in the world.The bucket-wheel excavator + ^" B" T, D6 _3 R: @* A: D) J
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.
% q% h8 n4 m7 P公仔箱論壇This image, captured by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite 公仔箱論壇: \: L  V7 p+ c# S; f& E2 x8 \0 K
Aug. 26, 2000, is a simulated natural-color image. The bright-green rectangular patches are crops, the gray patches are 1 H6 g: w/ N  U5 R: B
bare ground, and the bluish-gray areas are towns.