Garden City, Kansas

Center pivot irrigation systems created these circular patterns in crop land near Garden City, Kansas. The red circles indicate irrigated crops of healthy vegetation. The light-colored circles represent harvested crops.

Image date: 1 September 2000

Part of the US Geological Survey's "Earth as Art" collection of images taken by the Landsat 7 satellite.

Since 1972, Landsat satellites have collected from space information about Earth’s continents and coastal areas, enabling scientists to study many aspects of the planet and to evaluate changes caused by both natural processes and human practices. This image was created by visualizing both visible-light and infrared data in colors visible to the human eye; band combinations and colors were chosen to optimize their dramatic appearance.

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey [source has higher resolution version]

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