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/ w- B0 o5 Z/ Y. Z! A8 V3 X# {$ jPeople have become significant earth movers, outpacing all sources of natural erosion. More and more tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb6 ]% Y0 R7 ]% {; \
of our footprint can be seen from space in many forms, including cities, reservoirs,agriculture and * a3 l: m2 ^0 J: d. x
deforestation. Among the most impressive human scars on the planet are open-pit mines.
5 X# v( W. q7 f& a6 ^We’ve gathered some of the biggest, most spectacular and interesting mines, as captured by
# q2 ^" ^- ?; S" g  [, \. w; |tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbastronauts and satellites on the following pages.# @. ^' Y4 F# X$ k0 w

8 s, B) }2 K& j1 y7 ^9 mwww2.tvboxnow.comAbove: Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana
: U$ z% \. n/ D3 }7 y7 i7 o' ?tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThis former copper mine operated between 1955 and 1982. Gold and silver were also mined.
/ ?1 i  n, F5 f6 x$ mTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。An elaborate system of pumps and drains kept the local water level low enough for mining. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 g, U5 O& O, p" Y
Today, the 1,780 foot-deep pit is filled with around 900 feet of very contaminated water filled
) D$ D# [. G0 }6 l# {( z3 v& Vwith metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, pyrite, zinc,copper and sulfuric acid. The www2.tvboxnow.com1 u8 s4 e! ?  S9 ]% D0 z3 P
water can be as acidic as battery acid,and copper can actually be “mined” directly from the water.1 T' w1 @$ f2 S1 ?3 x
Currently, the 1-mile-by-0.5-mile pit is listed as a federal Superfund site with the potential to
) i5 S) p. \0 h8 j8 K- O! n- Qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbcontaminate surrounding ground water, and,surprisingly, is also a tourist attraction, complete tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb1 s/ H0 l/ u6 |) |! N& z/ Q
with gift shop and$2 admission fee.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. G; D$ W) ~7 K! ]$ w& S
This photograph was taken Aug. 2, 2006, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。& g$ G4 y- b) ^8 R% p+ r3 b2 B

9 v! p9 d3 a2 c) n7 Z  _4 j# iTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。" V8 R4 K: q% _: {7 O1 U

/ K9 k; q0 k  N/ q. q) V# Kwww2.tvboxnow.comEscondida Mine, Chile
2 ^& J; W% {9 _  UTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。The Escondida mine, opened in 1990 at 10,000 feet in northern Chile’s Atacama desert, currently produces
( E; U  k+ Z" Y: y! b( b5 Y: g0 ^TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。more copper than any other mine in the world, with 1.5 million tons in 2007, worth more than $10 billion and / n4 G) j( X( r' n  |& W
representing nearly a tenth of world copper production. More than 6,000 people work at the mine.5 \: k. M6 U+ t
This image was captured in 2000 by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer
# b2 w& Z( V6 R8 }0 h  }公仔箱論壇aboard NASA’s Terra satellite.
9 a" U- z# J! ^TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
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# w+ A1 Z2 u3 E8 z5 f" GBingham Canyon Mine, Utah
  Z  {1 q& @7 {7 Z8 wLocated 20 miles outside Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountains, the Bingham Canyon copper pit has produced www2.tvboxnow.com, a2 N, _5 j/ j! g
more than 18million tons of copper over its lifetime, more than any other mine in the world. The pit is about 2.75 . l5 B  |# m8 @5 J" \; ^- ^
miles wide and 4,000 feet deep. Two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the the other wouldn’t reach
4 b. f+ m% C; j0 n2 v% f公仔箱論壇the top. By 2015, the mine will be 500 feet deeper, and a third Empire State building will fit inside. The terraces
8 _( M) E( w  H" R* s/ a: B# U& ^inside the pit,which provide a base for the digging equipment and also stabilize the slopes, can be more than 80 TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。4 w( ]# J% K2 g; A* K
feet high. Opened in 1904, the site has been named a historic landmark.
5 D5 J5 T, N3 Q1 Y2 s: k6 Otvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThis photograph was taken Sept. 20, 2007, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a digital 公仔箱論壇+ f6 m. U( S5 e8 i
camera and an 800mm lens.
9 F: n5 h4 w0 S. g; q; |2 n公仔箱論壇) `- ^6 |/ E2 c

2 J& N$ T. E0 ~9 _$ U公仔箱論壇
- b4 _: d+ Y3 o- n2 [9 nYuba River Goldfields, California.
0 t$ S6 Y( m. w( q8 o7 t* P( HThe Yuba Goldfields are a strange culmination of years of pressure-jet mining for gold upstream in the Sierra Nevada, 公仔箱論壇9 r7 O9 Q- n! Z
dredging the tailings out of the river, and mining the tailings for gold and then later for gravel. The result is an odd
7 O; T6 _# Q, x4 k0 j4 qlandscape of reddish-brown and gray hills of gravel with water-filled ravines in between.
- V! R9 L: M5 M' Qtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbShortly after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevadain 1848, panning gave way to highly destructive hydraulic & @! f3 p" [. R& g
mining, which involves blasting sediment away with high-powered jets of water. Gold was extracted from the gravel, 8 `/ @! z* {2 D; ]2 S9 x* a  A
which was then dumped and carried downstream by rivers into the Sacramento Valley. The Yuba River ended up with www2.tvboxnow.com* {/ ^$ u: a" R  f/ b1 @. M$ I
685 million cubic feet of the mine waste, which raised the level of the river, overflowed the banks and buried farms.
. ~3 L! x4 \4 y7 n2 Y4 f6 {, xDredging of the Yuba began in 1893, and soon after,mining companies began to sift and re sift through the debris to 2 c9 d5 @" O% V" x+ S, K' c
extract ever-smaller bits of gold. By 1970, all economically feasible gold removal had been completed, and mining of the 0 C& N5 F( t- C" K# `
gravel for concrete began. Today, ownership of the land is disputed among mining companies, private owners and the government.www2.tvboxnow.com( `1 \; N" i! X) W7 t" j
This image was taken by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite Aug. 29, 2001.
) w: |" [& ?6 q& M3 b3 u3 STVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
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Toquepala Copper Mine, Peruwww2.tvboxnow.com! T# i- V" }6 ^+ F$ n! o
Located in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru, the Toquepala mine is 1.5 miles wide and 2,300 feet deep. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb' F; Z, y- U8 V6 K+ Z0 I  U% U2 ?/ a
The mine’s main output is copper, but it also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. The railroad that was 7 s1 b) u5 G. H# o' j
constructed to carry the ore 60 miles to the coast can be seen winding down a canyon left of the center, tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb2 H  j, T$ {, v( c
heading southwest from the mine. This image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb3 J; e: d, F  z. }- D1 o/ c
Station on Sept. 22, 2003.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb0 ?4 _/ a4 |$ p; j) b
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TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。' q* M7 D5 ]- i1 Q$ q4 g
Freeport Mine, Indonesiawww2.tvboxnow.com  ~8 Y& J) T, q. }2 K
The Freeport Mine, also known as the Grasberg complex,is a huge mining operation in Indonesia’s Sudirman
/ T) P# }+ N* o0 u6 ETVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Mountains. Copper was discovered here in 1936, and gold was first found in 1988. Today,the mine is one of
! |6 q5 G) i' e2 }& X. T, e8 o$ Cthe largest gold- and copper-extraction operations in the world. The open pit is 2.5 miles wide, and there is
$ E1 p/ u, R, V+ Nwww2.tvboxnow.comextensive underground mining in the area as well. Glaciers are also visible in the image.公仔箱論壇  U/ Z+ h9 d1 t( |0 Z% s, w
This photograph was taken June 25, 2005, by astronauts on the International Space Station.
4 x( w. J( B) Z1 d+ Z: m公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 H+ R, A" X4 y& w, A
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5 G8 m4 O8 B/ @tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbCananea Mine, Mexico公仔箱論壇8 Q9 t% F8 A7 A2 h6 z2 i
The Cananea mine is located 25 miles south of the United States border in Sonora, Mexico. The active Colorada
0 J7 Z$ q1 P$ ]公仔箱論壇Pit in the upper right is 1.6 miles across. It is one of the largest copper producers in the world and also contains TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。! g$ y8 w0 g# V: a
gold. Those two metals are often found together where hot magma forced its way up into the overlying bedrock.
# Z9 q( \9 D) ?# I1 [9 L公仔箱論壇The magma crystallized there while hot fluids circulated through it and into fractures in the surrounding rock,altering TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。9 l" H2 Y6 Z8 u" }  w6 V
the rock to produce copper-rich minerals and gold.
$ B! [6 d! G6 o- q( y! z& Jtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbA 1906 miner’s strike at Cananea turned violent and resulted in 19 deaths, contributing to events that led to the 公仔箱論壇) x* D/ f1 S9 G4 B7 C- m
Mexican Revolution in 1910. Another strike stopped work at the mine in 2007.www2.tvboxnow.com0 m  Y0 }3 c9 s, u! @% w: F- B/ g8 ?
This image was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on March 3, 2008.
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* j. u3 o- R5 @: ?6 E) o  C$ WTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
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$ r+ f1 o1 b+ T' t; g& w- kPhosphate Mines, Jordan
8 U4 f: b& B- N  o# v0 ?TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Phosphate mining is an important industry in Jordan,which has abundant deposits of the mineral on approximately 60 tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb3 {5 l/ R" |3 I' _( N/ j/ x4 T( s8 i1 Z
percent of its territory. Phosphorus is essential to living things, and food can’t be produced without it. Some scientists
0 M9 i0 v2 D* ?$ B, q公仔箱論壇fear a shortage of this critical resource is impending and have predicted the world will reach “Peak Phosphorus,” the 6 Z8 L5 z% x% v, \0 t
point at which production will begin to decline, just 30 years from now. There is currently no synthetic alternative.
+ u: D- E( I; ~7 wThis image was capture by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra
3 m8 V+ f; p8 ]TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。satellite Sept. 17, 2005. It is a false-color composite of visible and infrared images. Vegetation appears red, water is
7 T0 d& v* F9 O( E/ Q3 T" v; Rwww2.tvboxnow.comblue, and rock and soil can be anywhere from buff to black. The mining operation is the area just left of center in the
" |# ^" @" @' J( {9 u9 e0 q  r6 Slower part of the image that appears striped.www2.tvboxnow.com2 i# A6 w. _  W1 T
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$ Z8 _/ ^9 S  z公仔箱論壇New Cornelia Mine, Arizona公仔箱論壇9 G4 G/ x3 Y* y  z5 b
Copper was first mined from this area just south of the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, around 1750. The open-pit mine pictured www2.tvboxnow.com5 k1 K" ]9 ~  V9 C
above began being excavated in earnest in 1912. It was shut down in 1983 when the price of copper dropped. The scalloped " a. y. x7 O  y+ i. r% a
land just to the right of the mine is covered in tailings, and the large gray rectangles above that are containment ponds where TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。2 g* m* C+ d( v' a
the metal was extracted.
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# W5 E2 l' b' d% b公仔箱論壇
" B8 l: D/ C0 W! T* U& z* WTVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。
. M2 M& M) n( A9 ~# T3 Ewww2.tvboxnow.comHambach Coal Mines, Germany
1 f3 Q6 Q7 h: H+ V6 n5 Ytvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe bright white-and-dark-blue–striped areas on the right side of this image are opencast coal mines in mid western Germany.
% U3 G6 k9 F+ ?公仔箱論壇One of the mines is currently being worked by the Bagger 293, the largest machine in the world.The bucket-wheel excavator TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。7 J# |% m( _3 n( {: P! j
is twice as long as a soccer field and a stall as a 30-story building, and digs up 30 million tons of lignite per year.公仔箱論壇# J- n- o1 }& j, r1 Z
This image, captured by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite
" t' Z" i! Y/ \9 |( W& T& w8 LAug. 26, 2000, is a simulated natural-color image. The bright-green rectangular patches are crops, the gray patches are
9 x4 `8 v0 B1 Gbare ground, and the bluish-gray areas are towns.