Mining, forest and coast studies

Sixty years of land use, side by side.

Mines, forests and coastlines change slowly, then all at once. Film from the 1960s gives each of these places a starting point that modern satellites cannot. See also our city and settlement studies.

01 / Open-pit mining

Arizona: copper mining in the Sonoran desert.

In October 1965 this view south of Tucson was mostly open desert, crossed by dry washes, with early clearings and one bright tailings area. Today it holds a deep pit, large waste dumps and a tailings pond, with housing along the valley to the east.

Desert with washes and small cleared areas in 1965 — 2 October 1965 film

Map with mine land in red and built-up land in yellow — Red: mine land. Yellow: built-up

The same area in 2025 with a pit, waste dumps and a tailings pond — December 2025

About 22 km²of mine land in this 146 km² view today, plus 19 km² of built-up land. Bright ground on the 1965 film covers about 1 km²

Useful forMine footprint history, reclamation baselines, tailings monitoring and environmental due diligence

02 / Mine closure

Lausitz: when coal pits become lakes.

East Germany's open-cast lignite mines were working at full scale in 1965. Most of the pits in this view have since been flooded and now form part of the Lusatian Lake District, while one large mine still works in the top-right corner.

Large bright open-cast pits in 1965 — 4 October 1965 film

Map with 1965 workings in yellow and today's lakes in blue — Yellow: 1965 workings. Blue: lakes today

The same area in 2025, with lakes where the pits were — August 2025

At least 25 km²of the 59 km² of lakes here lie on ground that was bright, active workings in 1965. Older, darker workings are not counted

Useful forPost-mining land use, ground-stability screening, water management and site history

03 / Industry and pollution

Norilsk: the dark stain on the Arctic snow.

On this May day in 1966 the land around Norilsk was still white, except for a dark area spreading out from the city and its mines. Smoke-like plumes are still visible in the 2026 image.

A large dark area around Norilsk in surrounding snow in 1966 — 16 May 1966 film

Map with the dark area on the 1966 film in red — Red: dark ground, 1966

The same area in July 2026, with the city, mine workings and plumes — July 2026

About 64 km²of dark ground on the 1966 film in this 276 km² view. It may combine soot, melted snow and the city itself, which the film alone cannot separate

Useful forIndustrial impact history, contamination screening and long-term environmental assessments

04 / Deforestation and regrowth

Panama: where the suburbs stopped.

West of the canal, suburbs now fill land that the old film shows as forest and small clearings. They stop at a sharp edge. Beyond it, clearings that were visible in the 1960s have since closed into solid forest.

Forest with many small clearings and scattered clouds around 1966 — About 1966 film

Land-cover map with trees in green, built-up land in red, water in blue and other land in pale grey — 2021. Green: trees. Red: built-up. Blue: water

The same area in 2026 with suburbs against dense forest — January 2026

100 km²of tree cover in this 144 km² view in 2021, against 17 km² of built-up land. The film gives each patch of today's forest an age

Useful forEUDR and supply-chain cut-off evidence, carbon project baselines and restoration planning

05 / Coasts and green land

Bahrain: new coastline, vanished gardens.

In February 1967 a dark belt of gardens ran along the north of the island, with open desert to the south. Today that belt has largely given way to the city, and new land extends the shoreline into the sea.

Northern Bahrain in 1967 with a dark belt of gardens and open desert — 8 February 1967 film

Land-cover map with built-up land in red, water in blue, trees in green and other land in pale grey — 2021. Red: built-up. Blue: water. Green: trees

The same area today, almost entirely built up with reclaimed coast — October 2025

114 km²of this 225 km² view was built up in 2021, and tree cover was down to about 4 km²

Useful forCoastal reclamation history, loss of green land, heat and water planning

How to read these numbers

The maps are quick, automated readings and have not been checked in the field. A commissioned study would validate them first.
Areas on the film come from simple brightness rules, so treat them as approximate. Modern areas come from ESA WorldCover 2021, while the modern pictures are newer.
Mine land is WorldCover's bare ground in large solid patches. Dumps that have regrown, or small workings, can be missed.
Panama's date is an estimate. Thin cloud and shadow appear on some images.

Sources

Historical imagery: U.S. Geological Survey declassified archive.
Modern land cover: © ESA WorldCover project 2021. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2021) processed by the ESA WorldCover consortium.
Modern pictures: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025–2026.

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