Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

In the 5th edition of Earth as Art, we continue to display the Earth as our eyes cannot see it—in creative combinations of visible and infrared light. These unreal views of farmland, coastlines, and snowscapes remind us of the powerfully artistic qualities of Earth’s land features.

A volcanic landscape in the Tibesti Mountains of Chad shows some mysterious shapes.
The Watcher
The Watcher
Green shades seem to be bubbling up like a lava lamp on the left side of this image from northeastern Kenya.
Weird Watercolor
Weird Watercolor
Soft colors contrast with harsh terrain in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen.
Tapestry
Tapestry
Fluorescent colors dominate this dreamlike scene.
Fanciful Fluorescence
Fanciful Fluorescence
In a remote part of the Western Desert in central Egypt, highly eroded plateaus rise from the desert floor.
Expressions in the Desert
Expressions in the Desert
These orange shades and ragged shapes give an impression of moodiness.
Moody Carvings
Moody Carvings
The northern end of Isla Isabela in the Galapagos looks like a seahorse with warts—with an eye painted in the ancient Egyptian style.
Painted Horse
Painted Horse
This Landsat image looks like a bold watercolor. Yellow dances across the darkness with muted violet underneath.
Lurking Madness
Lurking Madness
Extensive farmland in northeastern China shows a predictable pattern of vertical shapes.
Shifting Shapes
Shifting Shapes
Vegetation appears red in this piece, which moves from dark to light in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Crimson Streams
Crimson Streams
In far northern Canada, pulses of freshwater flow down rivers after inland ice and snow melts.
Mackenzie Meets Beaufort
Mackenzie Meets Beaufort
In this region, called the Valley of the Moon in Jordan, steep-sided granite mountains alternate with sandy valleys.
Unfriendly Landscape
Unfriendly Landscape
A feathery, blood red streak cuts across the heart of this image.
Bleeding Heart
Bleeding Heart
Even with the calming blue tones, there is an unsettling feeling in the jagged marks that lead to a circular feature.
Storm amid the Calm
Storm amid the Calm
Snow covers the landscape in southwestern Minnesota just a day before the winter solstice.
Bleak Midwinter
Bleak Midwinter
Tranquil colors and patterns intermingle near Argentina’s Colorado River, which runs across the upper one-third of the image.
Sabotage
Sabotage
Cracking ice on the Arctic Ocean fractures like broken glass in far northern Canada.
Fractured
Fractured
The main feature here, near Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, is the Schooner Cays shoal complex.
Shoal Complex
Shoal Complex
A serene gradient from red to smoky blue-gray seems to mask a chaotic scene underneath, expressing a wide range of emotion.
Serene Expressions
Serene Expressions
Most of this image is in the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve of South Australia.
Parallel Dunes
Parallel Dunes
Appearing as if an artist imitating Jackson Pollock had randomly spurted ink onto the canvas, this image shows swirling ice in the Foxe Basin of northern Canada.
Icy Vortex
Icy Vortex
Abstract figures seem to appear on these South American plateaus.
Southwestern Abstract
Southwestern Abstract
Tantibus is Latin for nightmare.
Tantibus
Tantibus
In shallow waters surrounding the Tyuleniy Archipelago in the Caspian Sea, chunks of ice were the artists.
Caspian Scour
Caspian Scour