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

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。! i$ f& q8 A& X1 R/ B2 _

+ |0 c3 J7 X3 f0 j( C4 gTVBNOW 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。People have become significant earth movers, outpacing all sources of natural erosion. More and more
+ W8 {. i$ y1 x' Z1 j& S) Sof our footprint can be seen from space in many forms, including cities, reservoirs,agriculture and 5.39.217.769 p0 B/ K- V# k5 B/ Q8 g: \
deforestation. Among the most impressive human scars on the planet are open-pit mines.
" a% F) I* P! n' a! ]$ D: g( x公仔箱論壇We’ve gathered some of the biggest, most spectacular and interesting mines, as captured by   V' X2 H: K# U
astronauts and satellites on the following pages.5.39.217.76/ c* B! Q3 l) e8 t; m
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Above: Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana公仔箱論壇! h7 k1 j1 {+ ?# e' }
This former copper mine operated between 1955 and 1982. Gold and silver were also mined.
- I8 Q2 k3 M! A& q$ AAn elaborate system of pumps and drains kept the local water level low enough for mining.
) ]! P5 ~% y7 M$ d4 Wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbToday, the 1,780 foot-deep pit is filled with around 900 feet of very contaminated water filled$ [; Y( O+ E- W
with metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, pyrite, zinc,copper and sulfuric acid. The
. V- ~8 M" v0 D  K6 ]1 nwater can be as acidic as battery acid,and copper can actually be “mined” directly from the water.
2 m1 K7 d8 J9 P4 P% N5 `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。Currently, the 1-mile-by-0.5-mile pit is listed as a federal Superfund site with the potential to
2 q; Q6 H' O6 L( J  Pcontaminate surrounding ground water, and,surprisingly, is also a tourist attraction, complete
( q# k1 p$ K! C6 H3 J+ Z" l公仔箱論壇with gift shop and$2 admission fee.
1 K8 s2 I. P: |. nThis photograph was taken Aug. 2, 2006, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.9 K, Y/ ^5 n8 F/ d7 |, J+ B3 ?

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5 E& b5 Y4 q8 a0 `8 R5.39.217.76TVBNOW 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。( U8 o- J: b- o; @
Escondida Mine, Chile* G% y  g7 p1 \2 B0 o
The Escondida mine, opened in 1990 at 10,000 feet in northern Chile’s Atacama desert, currently produces . ~) @% l: [4 P2 L3 b8 V% y
more copper than any other mine in the world, with 1.5 million tons in 2007, worth more than $10 billion and
. m4 u9 _( O, [! F2 S, K1 d- qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbrepresenting nearly a tenth of world copper production. More than 6,000 people work at the mine.
  v& v% B4 ^1 [, u- }tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThis image was captured in 2000 by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。( z7 u1 N: W4 Z7 D: j2 c& y' u
aboard NASA’s Terra satellite.
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  a$ I  l* t& v( x' ^! TBingham Canyon Mine, Utah5.39.217.76$ v- T" t4 r: {) `6 n2 @
Located 20 miles outside Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountains, the Bingham Canyon copper pit has produced
( E7 Y# _! o, u' vtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbmore than 18million tons of copper over its lifetime, more than any other mine in the world. The pit is about 2.75 tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ ~5 o0 h' R8 }& e% [* B# M7 @
miles wide and 4,000 feet deep. Two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the the other wouldn’t reach 5.39.217.76/ N3 g! _+ C# N2 _! b1 ?, j% a8 T
the top. By 2015, the mine will be 500 feet deeper, and a third Empire State building will fit inside. The terraces tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. X$ ^8 {: `8 J0 f3 I& e" |8 V
inside the pit,which provide a base for the digging equipment and also stabilize the slopes, can be more than 80
% |- J' b5 N( h; m公仔箱論壇feet high. Opened in 1904, the site has been named a historic landmark.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。) Z* n# i# ~; C6 X% X
This photograph was taken Sept. 20, 2007, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a digital
; L1 c  e! q' J9 nTVBNOW 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。camera and an 800mm lens., v" q  P" }, X& B0 R

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- E2 K7 P* ~0 v# L& hYuba River Goldfields, California.公仔箱論壇" [9 T0 X/ T1 A/ q5 R9 u$ y
The Yuba Goldfields are a strange culmination of years of pressure-jet mining for gold upstream in the Sierra Nevada, : q  Q9 R) i, V
dredging the tailings out of the river, and mining the tailings for gold and then later for gravel. The result is an odd
/ @. _: E/ Q. G1 l2 m  T. `- x. |& I% g公仔箱論壇landscape of reddish-brown and gray hills of gravel with water-filled ravines in between.
. l& s# _7 [0 F/ O5 nTVBNOW 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。Shortly after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevadain 1848, panning gave way to highly destructive hydraulic 5.39.217.76" B$ V5 u& ~+ O' H
mining, which involves blasting sediment away with high-powered jets of water. Gold was extracted from the gravel, % E& s) \7 R+ K8 j
which was then dumped and carried downstream by rivers into the Sacramento Valley. The Yuba River ended up with 5.39.217.76  {# j: n+ @$ \% b
685 million cubic feet of the mine waste, which raised the level of the river, overflowed the banks and buried farms.
% o  t6 V. I$ I5.39.217.76Dredging of the Yuba began in 1893, and soon after,mining companies began to sift and re sift through the debris to
+ I' g( X# \! _7 }+ W/ I' Ntvb now,tvbnow,bttvbextract ever-smaller bits of gold. By 1970, all economically feasible gold removal had been completed, and mining of the 公仔箱論壇7 ?7 i) L. _1 I  _* s6 O+ ^8 z
gravel for concrete began. Today, ownership of the land is disputed among mining companies, private owners and the government.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb$ e/ ~2 o+ _" X- q6 k
This image was taken by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite Aug. 29, 2001.5.39.217.767 @! |3 u" c2 k. }  g5 Q

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Toquepala Copper Mine, Peru
, ]) v: U5 [0 `1 `公仔箱論壇Located in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru, the Toquepala mine is 1.5 miles wide and 2,300 feet deep. 公仔箱論壇# \3 ~/ S( l" E0 k6 c2 D' ~
The mine’s main output is copper, but it also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. The railroad that was 1 B5 Q% k9 A2 s- z  E6 e- K0 |
constructed to carry the ore 60 miles to the coast can be seen winding down a canyon left of the center, tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 k, w# T+ i, y3 A# F, r0 C
heading southwest from the mine. This image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space 3 `/ M( ^& b; |2 t
Station on Sept. 22, 2003.
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# ?' \' u, a/ ]- x/ t6 N" L  Z公仔箱論壇Freeport Mine, Indonesia
7 P: M8 u6 Q$ ?" s' }The Freeport Mine, also known as the Grasberg complex,is a huge mining operation in Indonesia’s Sudirman
: P6 o% n: S+ @+ t2 [3 Z* a1 \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。Mountains. Copper was discovered here in 1936, and gold was first found in 1988. Today,the mine is one of
- S& r: m0 F+ L& g$ p1 m% m. E5.39.217.76the largest gold- and copper-extraction operations in the world. The open pit is 2.5 miles wide, and there is 公仔箱論壇2 v9 u5 o5 _- P: V8 ?
extensive underground mining in the area as well. Glaciers are also visible in the image.6 I5 a, [  y: Y
This photograph was taken June 25, 2005, by astronauts on the International Space Station.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. t: Z7 O- B9 c, T/ `8 V( r

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Cananea Mine, MexicoTVBNOW 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。8 L" g, J& C& o4 V& U6 d
The Cananea mine is located 25 miles south of the United States border in Sonora, Mexico. The active Colorada ' A, p. c' s+ s" _0 N5 A/ e2 D( I
Pit in the upper right is 1.6 miles across. It is one of the largest copper producers in the world and also contains
* ~! @3 a3 h, h; x6 w/ W- S" f公仔箱論壇gold. Those two metals are often found together where hot magma forced its way up into the overlying bedrock.
3 C" n' E! A* x" {/ M公仔箱論壇The magma crystallized there while hot fluids circulated through it and into fractures in the surrounding rock,altering
& N! `& G. V( {the rock to produce copper-rich minerals and gold.
/ j  p& @, G* ^, [. A3 B; F  t9 a7 ltvb now,tvbnow,bttvbA 1906 miner’s strike at Cananea turned violent and resulted in 19 deaths, contributing to events that led to the
' K3 G# R4 J6 e3 h5.39.217.76Mexican Revolution in 1910. Another strike stopped work at the mine in 2007.
& W; b$ X, k0 N- Y* w8 f' [8 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。This image was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on March 3, 2008.
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Phosphate Mines, Jordan
" m" F) n+ ?" O- _" w* c/ vPhosphate mining is an important industry in Jordan,which has abundant deposits of the mineral on approximately 60
* l6 H; Y* @1 n' j4 p6 T; Xpercent of its territory. Phosphorus is essential to living things, and food can’t be produced without it. Some scientists
; P2 C. }* |8 D, B; K/ w* m! b公仔箱論壇fear a shortage of this critical resource is impending and have predicted the world will reach “Peak Phosphorus,” the tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb  P) R- c: X- W0 S8 }" ^
point at which production will begin to decline, just 30 years from now. There is currently no synthetic alternative.& `) E2 s$ Y2 h1 |2 `0 z; p
This image was capture by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra
- Z9 |3 \( p% a- n# ftvb now,tvbnow,bttvbsatellite Sept. 17, 2005. It is a false-color composite of visible and infrared images. Vegetation appears red, water is
4 O4 I  S/ w( O* b  A" n; lTVBNOW 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。blue, and rock and soil can be anywhere from buff to black. The mining operation is the area just left of center in the
( n8 F* ]* a1 z( B+ q+ R3 M5.39.217.76lower part of the image that appears striped.
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, [1 Y2 p9 G+ G' c5.39.217.76New Cornelia Mine, Arizona
5 x! b! o. B/ ?% Y+ A+ |8 CTVBNOW 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 , {* L) W  {0 d; i0 |
above began being excavated in earnest in 1912. It was shut down in 1983 when the price of copper dropped. The scalloped tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 i- F+ E# o9 q& k. b
land just to the right of the mine is covered in tailings, and the large gray rectangles above that are containment ponds where
, a: g" S# e  {( V3 j2 [the metal was extracted.公仔箱論壇5 p  P2 K5 ?" p& z9 a
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+ E7 @. r, G7 z4 o$ f公仔箱論壇Hambach Coal Mines, Germany- n4 Q& M3 m5 P3 }
The bright white-and-dark-blue–striped areas on the right side of this image are opencast coal mines in mid western Germany.
! L# `: |7 g9 y8 J. v* B' Gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbOne of the mines is currently being worked by the Bagger 293, the largest machine in the world.The bucket-wheel excavator 5.39.217.763 z" e' f; h- @. i0 c+ D. g& J* u
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.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb- m" m( j, `) Q0 }% t1 Y2 Z
This image, captured by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite & q9 R% B5 E; m& m$ I
Aug. 26, 2000, is a simulated natural-color image. The bright-green rectangular patches are crops, the gray patches are   X1 N2 n5 \* M+ H; t
bare ground, and the bluish-gray areas are towns.