25 PHOTOGRAPHS THAT CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE OUR PLANET

If you were a bird you’d see magnificent landscapes from above. The world seen from above is so different than we experienced it on the ground. These 21 Photographs will change the way you see our planet. They are collected by Daily Overview, who post an overview everyday on their website.

The Overviews (what we call these images) focus on the the places and moments where human activity—for better or for worse—has shaped the landscape. Each Overview starts with a thought experiment. We consider the places where man has left his mark on the planet and then conduct the necessary research to identify locations (and the corresponding geo-coordinates) to convey that idea.

The mesmerizing flatness seen from this vantage point, the surprising comfort of systematic organization on a massive scale, or the vibrant colors that we capture will hopefully turn your head.

1. Bourtange, Vlagtwedde, Netherlands

Bourtange is a star fort located in the municipality of Vlagtwedde in the Netherlands. The village was built in 1593 during the Eighty Years’ War when William I of Orange wanted to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen. Bourtange was restored to its mid-18th-century state in 1960 and is currently used an open-air museum.

2. Barcelona, Spain

Eixample – a district in the city of Barcelona, Spain – is characterized by its strict grid pattern, octagonal intersections, and apartments with communal courtyards

3. Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group Tucson, Arizona, USA

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona. Operated by the US Air Force, “The Boneyard” contains more than 4,400 aircraft

4. Central Park, New York City, New York, USA

Central Park in New York City spans 843 acres. That’s 6% of the island of Manhattan

5. Great Wall of China, Northern China

The great wall of China stretching out an astonishing 6,259 km

6. Desert Shores Community, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

The Desert Shores Community in Las Vegas, Nevada contains 3,351 units and four man-made lakes

7. New Bullards Bar Reservoir, Yuba County, California

Moored boats float peacefully on the New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County, California

8. Residential Development, Killeen, Texas, USA

In 2013, there were 923,400 home construction projects in the United States

9. Venice, Italy

The picturesque city is situated upon 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. With tide waters expected to rise to perilous levels, the city has constructed 78 giant steel gates across the three inlets through which water from the Adriatic could surge into Venice’s lagoon. The panels – which weigh 300-tons and are 92ft wide and 65ft high – are fixed to massive concrete bases dug into the seabed.

10. Vineyards, Huelva, Spain

Vineyards swirl on the hills of Huelva, Spain. The climate there is ideal for grape growing with an average temperature of 64 degrees and a relative humidity between 60% and 80%

11. Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain

Durrat Al Bahrain will consist of 15 connected, artificial islands (including six atolls, five fish-shaped, and two crescent-shaped). Construction costs are estimated at $6 billion and the project is slated for completion in mid-2015

12. Amazon Rainforest Deforestation, Para, Brazil

Clearcutting operations in the Amazon Rainforest of Para, Brazil branch out from one of the state’s central roads.

13. Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Boca Raton, Florida, USA a city in Palm Beach County, incorporated in May 1925

14. Venture Out RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona, USA

15. Puente de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain

Vibrant apartment buildings in the Puente de Vallecas district of Madrid, Spain contain a communal courtyard, often with a swimming pool.

16. Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery, Madrid, Spain

Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery in Madrid, Spain is one of the largest cemeteries in the world. The number of gravesites – estimated at five million – is greater than the population of Madrid itself

17. Palm Island / Hibiscus Island, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Palm Island and Hibiscus Islands are two man-made islands located in Miami Beach, Florida. While the residential neighborhoods on the islands have some of the highest property values in the city, they are also among the first places ordered to evacuate in advance of a hurricane

18. Inman Yard, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The Norfolk Southern Railway operates 21,300 miles of track in 22 states, primarily in the Southeastern US. Inman Yard in Atlanta, Georgia, pictured here, is one of the major railyards that houses a portion of the operation’s 3,648 locomotives and 79,082 freight cars

19. Brøndby Haveby, Brønby Municipality, Denmark

Brøndby Haveby, or Brøndby Garden City, is a community located just outside Copenhagen, Denmark. Houses with large front yards are centered around cul-de-sacs, providing cramped urban dwellers the opportunity to live outside the city and grow small subsistence or hobby crops during the summer months

20. Palmanova, Italy

Palmanova, located in northeastern Italy, is famous for its concentric fortress plan known as a star fort. The three rings that surround the town were completed in 1593, 1690, and 1813, respectively.

21. Uluru / Ayers Rock, Northern Territory, Australia

Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the Northern Territory of Australia. The monolith – towering 1141 feet high with an expanse of 2.2 x 1.2 miles – is a sacred site to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area who first settled there 10,000 years ago.

22. Rutzendorf, Groß-Enzersdorf, Austria

The commune village of Rutzendorf is located within Groß-Enzersdorf, Austria, approximately 18 kilometers to the east of Vienna. The region is currently experiencing a cultural shift as towns previously characterized by their agricultural surroundings are moving to become suburban centers with many inhabitants commuting to the capital

23. Recession of the Dead Sea, Neve Zohar, Israel

In recent decades, the water level of the Dead Sea has been dropping at more than 3 feet per year due to the extraction of raw materials and the diversion of water to the north (noticeable here). The Dead Sea level drop has been followed by a groundwater level drop, causing brines that used to occupy underground layers near the shoreline to be flushed out by freshwater.

24. Gibraltar International Airport, Gibraltar

Gibraltar International Airport serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar and neighboring parts of southern Spain such as Costa de Sol

25. Isola di San Michele, Venice, Italy

To protect gravesites from flooding, Venice’s main cemetery is not located within its city walls; instead the dead are buried on the nearby Isola (Island) di San Michele.