Like many lakes in northern Minnesota, Mille Lacs near Brainerd experienced an uncommonly warm winter this year, with lower than average snowfall. Natural color Landsat images from the past ten Februarys reveal a stark change in 2024.
The Eye of Quebec (Image of the Week)
Detailed Description
A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater.
In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour.
The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.
It was the completion of the Daniel-Johnson Dam in 1968 that united two river systems, creating the Manicouagan Reservoir, or the Eye of Quebec.
A declassified 1964 satellite image from the CIA’s Project Argon shows two crescent-shaped lakes originally outlining the impact zone.
By 1972, the reservoir’s new water level had been established, as revealed by Landsat 1, with more or less the same shoreline it has today.
The USGS EROS Center archive contains a wealth of satellite and digitized film imagery available at no cost to communities and scientists studying land change around the world.
Details
00:01:22
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Music track licensed via SoundStripe:
"Pillar" by Shimmer
https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/16400
Photo of Daniel-Johnson Dam
Government of Quebec
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Related
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Like many lakes in northern Minnesota, Mille Lacs near Brainerd experienced an uncommonly warm winter this year, with lower than average snowfall. Natural color Landsat images from the past ten Februarys reveal a stark change in 2024.
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Near the end of May, rain and cooler temperatures finally brought some relief for the out-of-control fires.
Image of the Week - Downpour in British Columbia
An atmospheric river swept through southern British Columbia on Canada's western edge, November 14, 2021. Parts of the province recorded nearly seven inches of rain in that 24 hour period. One week later, sediment carried by the Fraser River is visible in the Strait of Georgia. East of the strait near Abbotsford, the scene is even more dramatic.
An atmospheric river swept through southern British Columbia on Canada's western edge, November 14, 2021. Parts of the province recorded nearly seven inches of rain in that 24 hour period. One week later, sediment carried by the Fraser River is visible in the Strait of Georgia. East of the strait near Abbotsford, the scene is even more dramatic.