1. Earthshots
  2. The Everglades and Miami, Florida, USA
  3. Residential Lakes
Description

A lot of the urban area consists of large planned communities, often for retirees. Many of these communities incorporate artificial residential lakes. Digging out these lakes provided construction fill for roads and elevated low-lying land for development. The lakes also reduce the risk of urban flooding by capturing storm water runoff, and add aesthetic value.

Comparing the images in this time series, the number of small water bodies increases substantially. The small dark shapes are scattered throughout the green shades that indicate residential areas, along with golf courses, which appear brighter green. The dark green in the lower left is the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

An image from Sentinel-2 at 20-meter resolution shows even more clearly these residential lakes, golf courses, and suburban areas.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Nov. 2, 1985, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 2, 1985, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 7, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 7, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 15, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 15, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Sep. 13, 1996, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Sep. 13, 1996, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 6, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 6, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 17, 2008, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 17, 2008, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 10, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 10, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 17, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 17, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 22, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Oct. 22, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

Nov. 2, 1985, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Oct. 7, 1987, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Oct. 15, 1990, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Sep. 13, 1996, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Nov. 6, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Nov. 17, 2008, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Nov. 10, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Oct. 17, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA
Oct. 22, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 15/42) — Residential suburban areas north of Miami, Florida, USA

The Everglades and Miami, Florida, USA Additional Imagery & Stories

Agriculture
Agriculture

The fertile muck soils along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades Agricultural Area are intensively farmed. Tomatoes, beans, squash, p...

Canals and Levees
Canals and Levees

Historically, water flowed slowly southward through the Everglades in a wide swath. Record floods in 1947 and 1948 led to the construction of a massiv...

Limestone Mining
Limestone Mining

The Everglades sit on top of a bedrock of limestone. Limestone quarries, the dark rectangular shapes just west of the urban areas, provide about half ...

Tree Islands
Tree Islands

A unique feature of the Everglades is the dark green teardrop-shaped forms scattered throughout the region. Referred to as hummocks, or “tree islands,...

Turkey Point
Turkey Point

There is a notable shape southeast of Homestead on the coast of the Bay of Biscayne. The top right corner of this shape is the location of the Turkey ...

Urban Development
Urban Development

In 1900, southeastern Florida included a few small towns with a population of 3,592 people. Throughout the 20th century, Miami and other nearby towns ...