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US Landscape Transforms: New Satellite View
3 Jul
Summary
- New satellite image reveals 50 years of American landscape change.
- Great Salt Lake's shrinking size is a key visual difference.
- Landsat data aids farmers, water managers, and emergency officials.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has unveiled a new satellite mosaic of the nation. This imagery, created using data from Landsat 8 and 9, showcases significant transformations in the American landscape over the last half-century, continuing a tradition started during the 1976 bicentennial.
The 2026 view contrasts with a 1976 image, revealing more vibrant colors, particularly green in the eastern U.S., and distinct arid regions in the West. A prominent change is the reduced size of Utah's Great Salt Lake, attributed to reduced river inflows, drought, rising temperatures, and upstream water usage.
This updated perspective underscores the value of the Landsat program's continuous record of environmental change since 1972. The satellite data is crucial for decision-making, assisting farmers with crop monitoring, water managers with snowpack tracking, and emergency services with disaster impact assessment. The program will continue with the planned launch of Landsat 10 in 2031.
