CALIFORNIA: Airplane contrails appear to make scratches across the Mojave Desert.

‘Earth as Art’: abstract satellite images from the Western U.S.

Since 1972, government satellites have collected millions of images of the earth’s surface, providing crucial data for researchers and policymakers. But starting in 2001, the USGS began publishing photos for an explicitly nonscientific reason: they’re beautiful. The “Earth as Art” program showcases the land, sea, and sky in creative combinations of visible and infrared light that would not look out of place on the easel of a great abstract artist. Here are five selections from across the Western United States.

ARIZONA: The Painted Desert, shown in purple, adjoins the Sitgreaves National Forest, in green.
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COLORADO: High-altitude wetlands in the Rocky Mountains.
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ALASKA: The Yukon Delta empties into the Bering Sea.
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UTAH: The Green River and the Colorado River meet within Canyonlands National Park.
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WASHINGTON: The Cascade Range, including Mount Rainier, near Seattle.
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