Earthshots: Images of Earth's Changing Landscape

Topics: Remote sensing, land change, satellite imagery, time series, landscape evolution, Landsat

Length: One class period

Type of Resource Being Described: Satellite images of Earth’s landscape and information about how the land is changing.

Earthshots is an interactive website that displays Landsat satellite images of more than 100 locations around the world. Each location includes a description of the area and multiple satellite images showing what changes have taken place to the landscape over time. Some pages also include land cover maps and aerial photographs.

The interactive map displays the locations included in the Earthshots catalog. The site is categorized by theme and the entire catalog can be searched by keywords.

Educators can use Earthshots to help students:

Understand the Earth's dynamic land surface
View how and why landscapes change over time
Understand the various features that medium resolution satellite imagery can show us
Build skills in interpreting satellite imagery and in detecting changes over weeks, months, years and even decades

Visit the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center’s Earthshots site to get started.