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(© monika herodotou)
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Kalkan, Turkey

Here's a cute shot from Flickr user monika herodotou of the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The city of Kalkan is at right-center, its harbor partially protected by the offshore islands of Catal (the body of the exclamation point) and Sican (the point). The small islands of Heybeli and Saribelen lie closer to the coast at the bottom of the image.

Photos taken: April 2, 2008

Photos by: monika herodotou

Route: Unknown

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Sayan Mountains, Tuva

Here's an excellent series of high-resolution images from Flickr user Ninoxowl, taken on a flight from London to Hong Kong and covering central Asia, from the mountains of southern Russia to the cities of southern China. We start in the Sayan Mountains in the Russian republic of Tuva, with the Gora Kyzyl-Tayga mountain visible in the lower left.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Chazadyr River, Tuva

About 120 km southeast, the next image shows the Chazadyr River flowing through the Tannu-Ola Mountains, just north of the border with Mongolia.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Orog Nuur, Mongolia

A bit further south, the next image takes us right to the Mongolian border, with this view of Mongolia's Orog Nuur lake. The border runs along the edge of the plain in the foreground; the flatlands in the lower-right corner of the image are in Russia, while the rest is Mongolia.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Uvs Province, Mongolia

Further into Mongolia, the next image shows low hills and snow-covered plains in Uvs Province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Zavkhan Province, Mongolia

The next image shows more Mongolian plains, with the Zavkhan River visible in the distance.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Govi-Altai Province, Mongolia

Here's a closer look at the Zavkhan River, along with the massive field of sand dunes in the Khökh Morit section of Govi-Altai province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia

Next, we travel about 650 km further southeast, to this view from the western portion of Mongolia's Ömnögovi Province. The Chinese border lies just above center - the foreground is Mongolia, and the more distant plains are in China. The airstrip is called Obooto Hural Northwest.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Inner Mongolia, China

With the next image, we cross over into China, with this view of a road running through the Gobi Desert in China's Inner Mongolia province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Inner Mongolia, China

Here's another image of the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Badain Jaran Desert, Inner Mongolia

About 220 km further south lies the massive Badain Jaran Desert, home of the world's tallest sand dunes (some rise over 500 meters). The portion of the desert seen here is dotted with many small spring-fed lakes, some with fresh water and some with salt water. The larger lakes seen here measure about 1,500 meters across. Just left of center is Lake Nuoertu, and right of center is Lake Baidan Jaran, home of the Baidan Jilin Monastery.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Gansu Province, China

Further south we have this image of a lake flanked by sand dunes in Gansu Province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Gansu Province, China

Continuing further south, we come to this image of snow-capped mountains in southern Gansu Province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Minxian, Gansu

Approaching the southern border of Gansu Province, the next image shows the town of Minxian in Min County, Gansu Province.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Xijiang River, Guangdong

Travelling another 1,500 km south, we next have this image of the Xijiang River in Guangdong Province. The city of Yuncheng is hidden by clouds in the upper left portion of the image.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Foshan, Guangdong

Now approaching Hong Kong, the last two images show the southern outskirts of the city of Foshan, just outside of Guangzhou. Foshan's football stadium, the Century Lotus Stadium, can be seen (half cut off) in the lower left corner of the image.

Photo (© Ninoxowl)
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Foshan, Guangdong

The final image shows a wider view of the southern portion of Foshan, nestled between two branches of the Pearl River. The Century Lotus Stadium is in the lower center.

Ninoxowl has a bunch of other images from this flight online at Flickr; I only posted the ones that didn't have locations identified. Check out the full set here.

Photos taken: December 21, 2008

Photos by: Ninoxowl

Route: London to Hong Kong

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Chin Coulee Reservoir, Alberta

Here's a great series of images from Flickr user Carl Carl from across west-central Canada and the United States. We start in southern Alberta, with this image of the Chin Coulee, a large reservoir about ten miles south of the town of Taber, Alberta. The Chin Coulee Dam is visible in the right-center.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Chin Coulee Dam, Alberta

Here's a closer look at the dam, surrounded by snow-covered fields.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Missouri River, Chouteau County, MT

Traveling about 135 miles southeast, we cross the border into Montana and come to this image looking northeast along the Missouri River in Chouteau County, Montana, about ten miles northeast of the city of Fort Benton, MT.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Fergus County, MT

The next image, located about 40 miles southeast, shows a close-up view of striped fields surrounded by deeply incised valleys in Fergus County, Montana.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Lewiston, MT

Next we go to the county seat of Fergus County, the city of Lewiston, MT, population 5,813. Lewiston Municipal Airport is visible in the foreground.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Sheridan County, WY

Another 180 miles southeast, and we cross the border into Wyoming, with this view of Interstate 87 in Sheridan County, just east of the town of Ranchester, WY.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Sheridan County, WY

Here's a closer look at the landscape of Sheridan County.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Powder River, Johnson County, WY

Further south, in Johnson County, we come to this view of the Powder River twisting t

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Powder River, Johnson County, WY

Another look at the Powder River.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Sioux County, NE

Another 170 miles southeast brings us across Wyoming's eastern border into western Nebraska's Sioux County. This image shows center-pivot agriculture patterns north of the town of Morrill, NE.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Sioux County, NE

A closer look at some of the fields.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Scottsbluff, NE

The next image shows Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the county seat of Scottsbluff County and home to 14,732 people. Western Nebraska Regional Airport is visible in the upper right.

Photo (© Carl Carl)
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Red River, Oklahoma/Texas

With the final image, we travel another 630 miles southeast to the Oklahoma/Texas border, with this image looking east along the Red River, the border between the two states. Oklahoma is on the left and Texas is on the right.

Photos taken: January 18, 2009

Photos by: Carl Carl

Route: Calgary, Alberta to Cancun, Mexico

Photo (© e_mcarthur89)
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Andros Island, Bahamas

Here's a pair of images from the Bahamas, taken by Flickr user e_mcarthur89. The first image shows the northern tip of Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas. The image looks southwest across islets and reefs to the island's tip, at right-center.

Photo (© e_mcarthur89)
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Acklins Island, Bahamas

The next image provides a great view of Acklins Island in the Bahamas. The image looks southwest towards the southern tip of the island, visible at top center. Just off the tip of the island, obscured by clouds at the top of the image, is Castle Island.

Photos taken: March 11, 2006

Photos by: e_mcarthur89

Route: Unknown

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Cape Jewel, East Greenland

Here's a series of photos from Flickr user hans solcer along the coast of East Greenland. The first shot is taken from just offshore, looking west, and shows the many fjords indenting this section of the coastline. In the center of the photo is Kap Juel (Cape Jewel), with Anarnitsoq Island to the left, and the small, low-lying island of Singiartuarfik to the right.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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East Greenland islands

Slightly to the south, the next image is a close-up view of the Kapitak peninsula, with the island of Pungoq in the upper left, and the larger island of Umanaq in the upper right center.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Kamoen Island, East Greenland

About 20 km west, the next image shows the fjords winding around the island of Kamoen, visible at the upper left.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Guldfaxe Glacier, East Greenland

The next image, slightly inland, is a terrific close-up view of the terminal edge of the Guldfaxe glacier, as it enters the Sehested fjord. The intricate folded texture of the glacier's surface can be seen clearly. Compare the shape and position of the ice edge to the image from Google Earth, which it matches almost exactly. The glacier is about 2,800 meters wide at its terminus.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Valley, East Greenland

Just west of the Guldfaxe glacer edge, this image shows a snow-covered mountain valley near the Rorik Bjerg nunatak.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Rimfaxe Glacier, East Greenland

Moving further inland, the next few images show views of the upper reaches of the Rimfaxe glacier. In this shot, the Rimfaxe runs from left to right through the center of the photo, with a portion of the Guldfaxe visible along the bottom of the image (the two glaciers join just out of frame to the right).

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Rimfaxe Glacier, East Greenland

Here's a wider view of the mountains north of the Rimfaxe, which runs along the bottom of the image.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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Rimfaxe Glacier, East Greenland

A closer look at a smaller glacier entering the northern edge of the Rimfaxe.

Photo (© hans solcer)
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East Greenland

The final image is a shot of more distant mountains to the north, leading to the upper reaches of the Thrym Glacier near the center of the image.

Photos taken: January 30, 2009

Photos by: hans solcer

Route: Amsterdam to Dallas

Photo (© mnlamberson)
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Nuuk, Greenland

Flickr user mnlamberson posted this nice aerial image of Nuuk, Greenland's capital city, and home to about 15,000 people. The city lies on the flat peninsula at left center. In the foreground are the Hjortetakken mountains, with the edge of Rype Island visible at left, and the flat expanse of the Akia peninsula at the top of the image.

Here's another view of the same area, taken from a similar angle by Flickr user rrock_us in 2006.

Photo (© rrock_us)
See original post.

Photos taken: December 12, 2008

Photos by: mnlamberson

Route: Unknown

Photo (© spill1980)
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Arsuutaa Island, South Greenland

This image from Flickr user spill1980 shows a view of the fjords on the western coast of South Greenland. In the left foreground is the island of Arsuutaa, with the mountain of Kungnait rising at left center.

Photos taken: March 1, 2008

Photos by: spill1980

Route: Unknown

Photo (© mountain
wanderer)
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Scoresbysund, East Greenland

Here's a pair of images from Flickr user showing the mountains at the edge of Scoresebysund, the world's largest fjord. The first image looks north across the central part of the frozen fjord, dotted with icebergs. At left is Cape Stevenson, where the fjord divides into its western branch (the Gasefjord) and the northern branch (Hall Inlet), which stretches off to the upper right.

Photo (© mountain wanderer)
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Scoresbysund, East Greenland

The next image, slightly to the east, shows mountains and a glacier along the fjord's southern edge.

Photos taken: May 1, 1995

Photos by: mountain wanderer

Route: Unknown

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Paquetá Island, Rio de Janeiro

Here's a long series of images from Flickr user Leandro Moreira, on a trip from Rio de Janeiro to São Luís via Fortaleza, showing many details of the landscape of eastern Brazil. The series begins in Rio de Janeiro with this image of Paquetá Island in Rio's Guanabara Bay, home of Brazil's only population of baobab trees.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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São Gonçalo

The next image shows the eastern end of Guanabara Bay, with the city of São Gonçalo visible in the upper part of the picture, with the enormous São Gonçalo shopping center in the upper center.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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São Gonçalo

This image shows the eastern portion of São Gonçalo, with the Rio Guaxindiba winding through the lower right.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Mountain path

The next image shows a winding path in the mountains just east of the town of Carmo.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Paraíba do Sul

Just to the north, the next image shows the Paraíba do Sul, the river that forms the border between the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro (on the right) and Minas Gerais (on the left).

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Rio Pomba, Minas Gerais

45 kilomoters to the north, we have this image showing construction underway on the Barra do Braúna, a hydroelectric dam under construction on the Rio Pomba in Minas Gerais. A major construction site is seen on the south (right) side of the river, along with some activity on the north bank. The Google Earth image, dated April 2004, shows no sign of this activity.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Tumiritinga, Minas Gerais

Further north, this image shows the town of Tumiritinga on the Rio Doce, a river in eastern Minas Gerais.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Rio Doce, Minas Gerais

The next image shows a close-up view of islands in the Rio Doce just upstream from the previous image. Note the tributary flowing into the river from the lower left, with dark brown sediment clearly visible in both the photograph and the Google Earth image.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Missão Velha, Ceará

We now jump about 1,300 kilometers further north, to the Brazilian state of Ceará, and this image of agricultural land just south of the town of Missão Velha.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Reservoir, Ceará

The state of Ceará has several large reservoirs, including this one just south of the town of Quitaiús. The eastern portion of the reservoir is shown here, with the dam visible just left of center. The water level is noticably higher than the level in the Google Earth image, which was taken in November 2005.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Icó, Ceará

Next we have this image of the city of Icó on the Rio Salgado in Ceará.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Orós Reservoir, Ceará

The next image shows the Orós Reservoir, the second-largest reservoir in Ceará. It was constructed in 1960 by damming the Jaguaribe River. The horseshoe-shaped dam is visible just below the center of the image. The water level here is very close to the Google Earth image, taken in November 2007.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Castanhão Reservoir, Ceará

Further downstream on the Jaguaribe River is the Castanhão, the largest reservoir in Ceará. The reservoir began filling after the Castanhão Dam was completed in 2003. The images in the Google Earth view shown here were taken in 2002 and 2003, before the filling of the reservoir, and therefore do not show the reservoir. The city of Jaguaretama can be seen in the lower left corner of the image.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Reservoir, Ceará

The next image shows another recently-constructed reservoir in Ceará. This one is just east of the town of Aracoiaba, and was constructed sometime after the Google Earth image was taken in August, 2004.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Acarapé, Ceará

Next we have this view of the town of Acarapé in Ceará.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Serra de Aratanha, Ceará

Approaching the city of Fortaleza, the next image shows the western side of the Serra de Aratanha, a mountain park situated between the cities of Maranguabe and Pacatuba.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Fortaleza, Ceará

Just before landing in Fortaleza, the final image from this flight segment shows the neighborhood just west of Pinto Martins International Airport. Running vertically on the left side of the photo is the Rua Antônio Fiuza, and in the foreground is the Rua Elcias Lopes. In the background, the mountains of the Serra de Aratanha from the previous image can be seen.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Praia Mansa, Fortaleza

The next flight segment travels from Fortaleza to São Luís, the capital of the state of Maranhão. The first image shows the Praia Mansa, which protrudes from the eastern edge of the city. If you look closely, you can see the four large wind turbines which are located in this park.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Rio Ceará, Fortaleza

The next image shows the beaches around the mouth of the Rio Ceará at the western edge of the city.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Porto do Pecém, Ceará

About 30 kilometers west of Fortaleza is the city of Pecém, where the offshore container facility shown here was completed in 2002.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Luís Correia, Piauí

The next image shows the town of Luís Correia, situated in the state of Piauí at the mouth of the eastermost branch of the Parnaíba River.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Parnaíba, Piauí

Just west of Luís Correia, the city of Parnaíba sits on main branch of the Parnaíba River.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Parnaíba, Piauí

Here's a wider view of Parnaíba, showing the main branch of the Parnaíba River as it reaches the Atlantic.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Parnaíba River, Maranhão

The Parnaíba River has a large and complex delta, spanning over 70 kilometers along the coast of the states of Piauí and Maranhão. This image shows the main western outlet of the delta, with a small field of dunes visible on the right.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

Just east of São Luís lies the much larger field of dunes comprising the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. The dark sections spread throughout the dune field are freshwater lagoons that form during the rainy season between July and September each year.

Photo (© Leandro Moreira)
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Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

Here's a closer look at the dunes at the southern edge of the park. The dunes and lagoons are fairly stable, maintaing their shapes from year to year, but slowly evolving over a span of several years. The Google Earth image shown here, taken in October 2003, shows lagoon shapes that match most of the features visible in the photograph, but there have also been substantial changes in the shapes of some of the lagoons.

Photos taken: August 19, 2008

Photos by: Leandro Moreira

Route: Rio de Janeiro to Fortaleza, Fortaleza to São Luís

Photo (© dnskct)
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Haystack Mountains, Carbon County, WY

Here's a set of aerial views from Flickr user dnskct, taken over Wyoming in November, 2008. The first image shows the folded ridges of the Haystack Mountains in northern Carbon County, Wyoming.

Photo (© dnskct)
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Seminoe River, Carbon County, WY

About 13 miles east, the next image shows the southern portion of the Seminoe Reservoir on the North Platte River in Carbon County.

Photo (© dnskct)
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Platte County, WY

The final image shows a close-up of a center-pivot irrigation field in Platte County, Wyoming, about five miles southeast of the town of Wheatland.

Photos taken: November 21, 2008

Photos by: dnskct

Route: London to San Francisco